Caged Rose
by Sapphira T
Summary: Kiley is back, but what will she get herself into this time? When a an old case comes back to haunt the NCIS team, Kiley pays the price. Yes, author can be mean. No, author doesn't care what you think. Second story to the Black Rose series!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Sapphire here! So, I was amazed at all the support that 'Black Rose' got, and it encouraged me to start up a second book!**

 **Now, if any of you are confused by now, I suggests you go back to my page and read 'Black Rose', then you won't feel so confused.**

 **If you've already read said story, then you can keep reading this one!**

 **Now, I love hearing from you guys. So, if you like this story and want me to continue, leave me a review! It makes my day hearing from all of you, so don't be shy!**

 **Anyway, I'll let you read on. Let's see what more trouble Kiley gets into this time, eh?**

 **ST**

Kiley's POV:

I stepped into the airport hub and was instantly surrounded by more people than my plane had been carrying.

I sighed.

Yay.

Maybe I should have taken Gibbs' up on his offer to drive me here. If I had, then I would be drinking coffee, on a road trip with Gibbs, and not spent the time attempting to massage the cramps out of my long legs while listening to a young mother attempt to calm her 8 month old down.

Hind sight is always 20/20 I suppose.

I hitched the messenger bag higher on my shoulder and kept walking through the crowd, attempting to not get jostled too much. Even though it had been 2 weeks since I'd been released from the hospital, my ribs were still sore, and so was my shoulder.

My hands were fine though, and, though my wrists were still scarred (I put more leather bracelets on to hide the marks), everything else was too. Although, I had to say, it felt weird when I reached up to push my hair behind me ear and felt the groove a knife had left. I still had a scar on my cheek that went with that groove, and it made people look at me funny. But I was getting used to it quickly.

I collected my bags, and was very grateful that my violin had been sent priority a few days prior. Otherwise my poor instrument would be broken by now. Hopefully it still hadn't been broken. If it had, I would probably cry. Or scream. Or both.

I picked up the three bags and began hiking through the crowds, trying to find my brother.

What I did not expect to find though, was two people, standing on chairs, holding a sign with 'Baby Genius' written in bright pink letters, screaming, "Over here, Kiley!" and waving at me enthusiastically.

My brother was standing on the ground below them, holding his head, and shaking it.

I did not expect to find Morgan and Garcia, screaming at the top of their lungs for me. But that didn't mean I didn't like it.

I grinned widely at both of them, and strode over to them.

Morgan leapt off of the chairs, helped Garcia down, then covered the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me with a happy laugh.

I dropped my bags as he spun me in the air.

I laughed with him, and patted his shoulder, "It's good to see you too, Derek."

He paused, set me down, and looked at me with a big, giddy grin, "You used my first name!"

I gave him an innocent look, "And? Do you not want me too?"

His grin just got wider and he ruffled my hair, "Keep using it, kid."

I smirked at him, but before I could say anything else, Garcia's arms had encircled me and she squealed happily, "Baby genius! You're finally here!"

I laughed and patted her hands, "I'm here, Penny. It's only been two weeks."

I could _hear_ her pouting. "Two weeks is too long."

I sighed and shook my head fondly, "Whatever you say."

Her arms tighten momentarily, before she remembered that I still might hurt, and let go so suddenly that I staggered forward.

Morgan caught be before I could fall too far me by pushing a steadying hand onto my uninjured shoulder. I smiled at him in thanks and turned towards my brother.

I hugged him briefly, and when I pulled away, he was smiling at me.

"It's nice to see you, Kile." He said softly.

I smirked at him, "It is nice to see you as well, brother dearest."

He cuffed me on the back of my head lightly, then slung his arm over my shoulder.

He waved towards Morgan and Garcia, saying, "I tried to tell them that they didn't need to come. But Garcia hacked into the airports flight data and found out when you were landing, she told Morgan, and both of them got here before I did."

I snickered at them and told them honestly, "I'm glad you guys are here."

Garcia beamed at me, and Morgan's eyes were brighter than before. Spencer just shook his head with a small smirk.

Criminal Minds

 _A week later:_

Kiley's POV:

I sighed, breathing the fresh spring air in, and stopped for a moment to stare at the huge entry hall in front of me. I was going back to college, thankfully with all A's (I did extremely well on my report. Even if my teacher was horrified about my experiences), so now I was heading back with my head held high.

Or, it was, until my feet decided to trip over themselves, and I started falling towards the ground.

My shoulders and ribs still ached, and I had a horrible feeling that connecting with concrete would not make them very happy.

I closed my eyes and waited for contact. But the cold ground never came. Instead, I connected lightly with a very warm thing. I opened my eyes and saw a long arm holding me up, a few inches from the ground. The arm was curled gently around my waist, and there was a hand on the back of my neck. A very warm hand.

I followed the arm up to its owner and was greeted by concerned blue eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. His voice rumbled, and resonated through the air. He had a slight southern accent, and his voice was very deep.

He had light brown hair, dark blue eyes, tan skin, freckles, and seemed to be a giant. Even from my position, I could tell that he was easily 6'8, if not taller. He was lean, for the most part (He had broad shoulders), and I could see his muscles bulge out of his huge, fluffy, black jacket.

I was at a loss for words.

His eyes grew more concerned, and he picked me back into a standing position.

His large hands rested surprisingly gently on my shoulders, and he repeated himself, "Ma'am? Are you alright?"

I shook myself mentally, and nodded, managing, "Yes. Thank you for catching me."

I was rewarded with a smile, "I'm glad." He rumbled. He removed one hand from my shoulder, and held it out to me, "My name is Eric. What's yours?"

I took his, and vaguely realized how his hand made mine vanish, and he was so _warm_. I remembered he was waiting for me to answer, and replied, "Kiley. Pleasure to meet you, Eric."

He smiled again, "Pleasure is all mine, Kiley."

I nodded again and smiled back at him.

Then the bell rang, and Eric hung his head, "And, with that, I'm late for class."

My mind raced for an excuse, and I quickly said, "I'm a new student, I was supposed to find someone to show me around to my classes. You could use that as an excuse."

He beamed at me, "Alright then, Kiley, what classes to you have?"


	2. Chapter 2

We made it to my first class (Which happened to be Eric's first class as well) only 10 minutes late. The professor (a short, portly man with gray hair) was surprisingly lenient, and smiled at me kindly when we explained that I was a new student.

We took a few seats in the back of the auditorium, and halfway through the class, Eric was gritting his teeth and writing everything that the teacher said furiously.

I touched his arm lightly when the professor paused in his speech to take a question. "Eric? What's wrong?" I broached carefully. His body language was agitated, so I might have to choose my words carefully.

He looked up at me helplessly and muttered, "My strong point has always been Foreign language and History. Math is….. Not very nice. But, I'm a linguistics major, so I need to at least pass my Math credits."

I smiled at him, "I can help with that. I've always had a knack for math and science, I had to, to have a biochemistry degree. I can help you with your math, and maybe you can help me with foreign language?" Yes, I was a wiz kid. And yes, I had a photographic memory. That being said, I wasn't good at learning other languages. I had managed to learn Spanish though, but I had a good teacher in Las Vegas.

But, I was interested in learning a different language. Like Latin, or Italian. Plus, Eric might feel better having something to offer in return.

Eric smiled gratefully at me, "That would be great. We can go to the library after school?" I nodded to him, and we started to listen to the teacher again.

Criminal Minds

Eric showed me to my next class, Chemistry, and said something about going to his culinary class. He had been getting red as he told me that his mother had made him sign up for cooking classes as part of the 'deal' to come to this school. Mostly because 'Any self respecting man knows how to cook for his darling!'. I didn't laugh though, I just made him promise to bring me some of the outcomes.

After he scurried, yes, a 6'8 giant _scurried,_ away, I turned and walked into Chemistry.

For the most part it wasn't bad, until the last ten minutes.

A blonde haired boy spilled his beaker on his hand. The beaker which just so _conveniently_ **happened** to be filled with a _very_ hot, flammable liquid. And said boy _oh so_ _conveniently_ threw his hand around in panic and just _happened_ to put his hand near enough to the _open flame_ that was still going from when we were supposed to (be safe) make the stuff in our beakers boil.

Also, said boy _apparently_ needed to take his glove off to check his phone before lighting his hand on fire. And, said boy was _right next to me_ , and also **happened** to be clumsier than me. He tripped over his chair and landed on top of me.

I yelped as I crashed into the ground with a flaming boy on top of me, who was still screaming. And now, a few other people had begun to scream as well, and the teacher was attempting to calm everyone down and fill a glass full of water to put the boy out.

I tried to shove said boy off of my stomach and use something to put him out; before I could, two massive hands that I recognized wrapped around my arms and yanked me out from underneath the boy.

At that time, the teacher had a glass full of water, and dumped it unceremoniously on the boy's hand.

The flame gave one last halfhearted sizzle, before relenting and going out.

I turned to thank Eric, who had arrived heroically to save me.

And he held out cookies with a grin. "You know, if you keep getting in trouble when I'm not there, I just can't leave you alone anymore." His blue eyes twinkled with humor and his lips were quirked up in a sly grin.

I huffed, taking the offered pink cookies, vaguely realizing that my hand was shaking violently, and replied crossly, "I didn't mean to get tackled by a flaming boy. He fell on top of me after lighting himself on fire."

Eric sighed and shook his head. Then he glared at the boy who was beginning to rise to his feet with the teacher's assistance.

The teacher looked at me, looked back at the boy, and started, "Miss Reid? Could you take," He glared at the boy, "This pyro, to the nurse's office? And perhaps get you checked as well, just as a precaution. I can see you shaking from here."

I sighed and spared a glance at said pyro.

When he fell on my ribs, he jarred them, and my brain might have connected that to what happened when I was Kiley-napped. I knew I was shaking because of anxiety. And shaking usually lead Spencer to panic attacks, so I needed to calm down before I did have a panic attack. Especially since I was fine. My brain just needed to realize that.

I had one panic attack since I was came back from the hospital. It was with Gibbs. We were eating in his kitchen, and he accidentally knocked his knife from his plate, and it had crashed to the ground near his foot.

I had frozen, my brain had seen that as a threat, and I don't remember what happened from there.

I came out of it, shaking and crying, collapsed in the corner, in Gibbs' arms. When I calmed down enough, he watched movies with me until I fell asleep. I woke up in my bed, and he didn't ask me about it again.

I had seen a 'shrink' and she did help. But I refused to let panic rule my life.

I took a deep breath through my nose, and let it out slowly through my mouth. Eric's hand rested lightly on my shoulder, his thumb traced light circles on the back of my neck and I calmed almost immediately. I would need to remember that.

I nodded to the teacher, "Sure. I won't mind."

He nodded and said, "I'll write up excuses for the two," He looked at Eric and corrected, "Three of you. Wait just a moment and you can go."

The boy was cradling his hand and was biting his lip to stop from whimpering. His green eyes were wide with pain, and his normally tan skin was splotched red from him holding his breath.

I softened seeing the look on his face. I sighed and rooted through my messenger bag before finding what I wanted. The medic in me always made sure to carry a small med kit with me at all times.

I picked up the small box triumphantly, and opened it to pull out some burn salve.

I reached out for the boy's hand, and after a moment, he held it out to me.

I gently rubbed some of the salve on his hand. "Luckily, it looks like a second degree burn." I said softly.

An intake of breath met my words, "What does that mean?" Came the quiet reply. The boy's voice was soft, and held a musical quality to it.

I sighed, "It means that it won't scar permanently. You usually get second degree burns from grabbing a hot pan. They stay for a while, but if you take care of them, they can fade. And, even though you tried valiantly, the flame didn't surround your entire hand. So you'll just have a burn on your palm and thumb."

I looked back up at him to see him watching me with dismay, "Will I be able to play basketball again?"

Oh. I should have realized that sooner. He was built for basketball, he was tall, a little taller than me, lean and well built, and he had a fast look to him.

"Yes. If you take care of it. That means leaving the burn open, applying burn medicine liberally, not stressing your hand, putting ice on it, and taking it easy for a week. You will be able to play if you are nice to it." I reassured him.

His face relaxed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He studied his palm and asked, "What did you put on it? It doesn't burn so much. In fact, it feels more cold than hot."

I showed him the medicine, then put it back into my bag.

"It dulls your pain nerves, that's why it feels cool. Your nerves were panicking as they were fried; but, the medicine calmed them down for the time being. Ice has the same affect. You might want to buy some later, I can tell you what to ask for at the pharmacy." I offered.

He nodded.

The teacher came back, and handed three slips to Eric, then shooed us out of the classroom.

Eric planted himself between the boy and I, and I had to suppress a smirk.

Mom once told me that I had a magnetic effect on different people, and they couldn't help but like me, or hate me viciously. I had laughed then. But with Gibbs and the NCIS team, Spencer's team, and now Eric. I was beginning to wonder if there was truth in what she said.

"So, pyro, what's your name? Mine's Kiley." I began.

Eric held up his hand, "I'm Eric."

The boy laughed nervously, "Uh, Jacob. Nice to meet you guys, I guess."

I snorted, "I would have preferred to meet you when you were not waving your fiery hand around in a panic."

Jacob's face reddened and he coughed, looking away from me.

Soon, we were at the nurse's office, and she went around, gathering what she needed, all the while muttering about 'stupid Chemistry students. I have to take care of one each week.'

I could barely contain my laughter, Eric kept coughing in an attempt to hide his, and Jacob looked scared.

She looked me over with a critical eye and huffed, "You can leave. There is nothing wrong with you."

I didn't need further prompting, and Eric and I left as fast as we could while Jacob called after us, "Traitors!" Then proceeded to yelp as the nurse smacked him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! For this chapter, I have no clue how to speak Italian. I can speak moderate Spanish. And I know that Spanish isn't that far off from Italian, if you learn one you can learn the other type thing, but I apologize if any of this is wrong. I'm using dictionaries and google translate. So, sorry!**

 **ST**

Kiley's POV:

"So… So No… ben… bene oh ggi" I staggered through the words in front of me. They were actually 'Sono bene oggi', but I couldn't get the pronunciation right.

Eric laughed from his place beside me. We had already gone through his math homework, now he was attempting to teach me Italian.

"Sono bene oggi." He prompted gently. "I am well today. Try again."

I muttered under my breath, but tried again. "SoNo beni ogi."

Eric sighed and pointed to Sono, "Okay, this does not have to have a No. One thing, Sono. Not 'So, no.' try again. Just that word."

I sighed, "Sono."

Eric clapped me on the back, "Good! Now, the next one, try 'Ben eh' not 'Ben E'."

"Bene." I tried.

He gave me another smile, "Good! For the last one, it oggi. Not Oh, gee."

"O… Oggi." It wasn't the best, but it was better than the first time.

Eric grinned, "Now try them all together."

I bit my lip, "Sono bene oggi." I stumbled a bit, but overall, I got it right.

Eric smiled widely at me, and passed me another pink cookie. Those were my rewards for getting the pronunciation right. Eric's reward was for getting his answers right was the large white chocolate macchiato sitting at his elbow.

I bit into the pink cookie and willed myself to calm down. I was getting too worked up about it, and I needed to relax. I focused on how the cookie tasted. It melted in my mouth, and tasted pleasantly like strawberries and vanilla. Eric was a good cook.

Eric saw my silent struggle and closed the Italian book. "Okay, we can pick up tomorrow. For now, I want to know more about you."

I smiled at him, "I guess that's what friends do, huh?"

He nodded in mock seriousness, "Yes. I'll go first. My name is Eric Santiago. I was born in Louisiana. I grew up on a farm and participated in local 4-H and FFA. My sister was deaf, so the first language besides English that I learned was ASL. That encouraged me to learn other languages, like Spanish and French. I came here to attend college at the age of 18. And today, I met a trouble magnet named Kiley."

I snickered and calmed to reply in equal seriousness, "My name is Kiley Reid. I was born in Nevada. My dad took me away from my mom and older brother when I was very young and took me to D.C. I went back to Las Vegas every summer until my brother got a different job in Virginia. I went to a college in D.C. when I was 13. And since then, I have gotten multiple PhD's and am working on my Forensic Science degree and another right now. The only language besides English that I know is Spanish. And you have no idea how much of a trouble magnet I am. I moved in with my brother after I got tangled up with NCIS in D.C. But I hope to go back to that team someday. And today, I met the giant teddy bear Eric."

Eric looked appropriately shocked. "Er… How old are you now?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "How old are you? I'm 16. I'll be 17 in a few weeks."

His mouth fell open and he stuttered, "Um… Uh… I'm…. Uh… 19. You know what? I'm not going to ask."

I grinned, "Probably a good choice."

I looked down at my phone and got to my feet, if I didn't leave now I would be late.

"Sorry, Eric. I've got to go. I've got an appointment. I'll see you tomorrow though?" I talked while I gathered my things.

Eric nodded, still looking at me in shock.

He watched me walk away, before leaping to his feet and running after me.

"I can walk you to wherever you're going." He offered.

I grinned at him, "I actually have to take a bus there. But I wouldn't mind the company to the bus stop."

He fell into step beside me, and I found myself lengthening my stride so he wouldn't have to cripple himself trying to keep my pace. If he noticed, he didn't comment.

He walked me out of the school and to the bus stop. He shuffled awkwardly as the bus began to pull up and I sighed and stepped forward. I hugged him and after a moment, his arms wrapped around me.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said before stepping back.

He nodded and I walked onto the bus, leaving my new friend behind.

Criminal Minds

When I got off the bus, I was in front of a dojo. Ziva still wanted me to continue with self-defense, especially since we had only started again before I left for Virginia. So she had called a friend of hers, Jinhai, and pulled a few favors to get me ninjitsu, martial arts, and judo training. Plus kick boxing, boxing, wrestling, knife throwing, general target practice, and a few others.

I was grateful for it. I still wanted to learn everything that could be taught to be, and I didn't want to get into a situation where I couldn't defend myself again.

I still had my knife in my boot, and the constant presence calmed me down. Like Ziva was sitting next to me.

I took a deep breath, this guy is Ziva's friend. I'll be fine.

I stepped through the door, and a voice instantly greeted me, "Punctuality is a key in fighting. If you are not directly on time, you will miss your throw and get hit. I expect you here early tomorrow, Miss Reid."

The voice was low, and very rich. It glided through the air like music. And I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

I looked around, and barely heard something shift behind me before jumping forward, missing a kick by an inch. I twisted around, throwing my bag away from me as I did so, and was greeted by a man with dark skin, black hair, a neatly trimmed black beard, a lean figure corded with muscle, and an easy grin on his face that did not go with his appearance. He looked like he could snap a bone in half by poking it. But his strength didn't look all that physical, it wasn't in your face. Had he not been wearing a tank top and sweats, I wouldn't have seen it.

He bowed with a flourish, "So Ziva was not lying when she said that she had trained you moderately. You were listening for me. I believe I can teach you. Do you have other clothes to change into? That baggy shirt will not do you any favors."

I nodded and pointed to my bag, "I've got a tank top, sweats, and tennis shoes in there. Can I get them without being hit?"

He waved his hand nonchalantly, "That depends on you. The bathroom is there," He pointed, "And your bag is there. Can you move as quickly as Ziva says you can? Get to the bag, get to the bathroom, and close the door before I land a hit. Do that, and I won't make you run 20 laps today for being late."

I felt myself start to grin. Ziva said he would challenge me. And I loved a challenge.

I took a moment to calculate the distance in my head, all the while not taking my eyes off of Jinhai. It was maybe 5 yards away. Doable. And very fun.

Jinhai blinked, and I rushed off. I bent while I ran and swung the bag over my shoulder. I side stepped and leapt into the air to avoid a swinging punch and drop kick.

I twisted around and connected with the door with my shoulder. I twisted the handle as I ducked, and fell inside, slamming the door and locking it before Jinhai could get his hand in.

I laughed, Ziva had done that more than once. Only her reward was to buy me coffee. And if I failed, then I had to buy her coffee. At first, I had bought her coffee all the time. Then, gradually, I started getting more coffee. Plus, Gibbs would always bring me coffee if I lost. He just didn't tell Ziva about it.

I changed quickly and stepped back out warily.

But Jinhai was waiting in the center of the room for me.

I walked towards him while I put my hair up in a ponytail, and Jinhai said happily. "Alright, you bested me. 15 laps will do I think. Are you ready?"

I nodded, and we walked outside, towards the massive running grounds behind his dojo, and began running.


	4. Chapter 4

_A few months later:_

I walked into my brother's apartment and collapsed heavily on the couch, throwing my bag to the floor. I had an essay to write, and Eric had me writing a page long essay in complete Italian (Payback for me making him attempt to complete an entire page of math written by my brother), but I was too tired and sore to do it now.

My growling stomach made itself known and I heaved myself to my feet with a groan. Jinhai never pulled his punches or kicks, being a firm believer that I would move more quickly if I had a reason to, so I was very sore and covered with bruises. But it was the good kind of sore, like the kind you get after working a day doing something you love. So I didn't really complain.

I shuffled towards the kitchen, getting looser with each step, and thought back upon the month in Virginia.

I'd gained more friends, not just Eric and Jacob, but also a blonde boy named Lucas, who was gay, a fiery red head with an equally fiery personality named Trisha, and a brown haired, shy girl named Michelle who was bisexual.

All of them were amazing, and I felt like they were already family.

I smiled as I reached for the refrigerator door. When I opened it, a knife buried itself into the wall, right next to my head. I nearly leapt into the fridge with my fright.

I swiftly reached for the offending glorified silverware, yanked the knife out, and whipped around, knife already prepared to throw.

"Are you freaking serious?!" I yelled when I saw who was sitting at the kitchen table.

I lowered my knife as the person laughed. "Had you been paying attention, I would not have surprised you so much. Perhaps Jinhai is not a good a teacher as he claims."

I scowled and crossed my arms, mindful of the knife, and spat back, "Maybe I'm tired. Maybe my ears are still ringing from the hit to the head I took earlier. Maybe I didn't expect to find one Ziva David sitting at my table!"

Ziva smirked at me and stood, "You must be prepared for everything. Even in the 'safety' of your own home. Always be on your guard, then you can never be taken by surprise."

I sighed and threw the knife onto the counter. Ziva stopped a foot away from me and her eyes skimmed along my frame appraisingly. She nodded, and her lips danced on the edge of a smile.

"You have been well?" She asked lightly.

I nodded, matching her expression, and slyly replied, "As well as I can be."

Ziva huffed lightly, then smiled warmly at me, and opened her arms. That was the only encouragement I needed, and quickly wrapped my arms around her. Her arms came back around my shoulders and she murmured, "You have gotten taller since I saw you last."

I had to. Spencer was 6'1, so I had a good probability of being tall. I was now 5'11, and leaner than I was before. But now, it wasn't just simple scrawniness, it was muscle.

I bent my head though, and my shoulders came down at an awkward angle, but I really didn't care. I leaned my head against Ziva's shoulder and sighed, murmuring back, "Did you expect me to stay the same forever?"

Ziva shook her head, "Not at all. Everyone must change, whether in appearance or heart. As you grow older, you lose a part of yourself that you can never regain. But, you obtain new parts that make you either a better person, or a worse one."

I sighed, "How do know what you'll be?"

She was silent for a moment before she replied, "That is your choice to decide."

I shook my head, prompting her to continue.

"It is all your decision as to who you will be. You can decide if you want to be the villain of your story, or the…. 'Good guy'. Of course, you have friends who can help you along the way." Her voice was soft, and slightly hypnotic.

I hummed in reply, and Ziva let go. But her hands never left my shoulders as I straightened.

I smiled brightly at her, "It's great to see you, Ziva."

She smiled back at me and inclined her head, "And you as well, Kiles."

I motioned behind me, "Can I get you anything? Water? Soda? Food?"

She shook her head, "No. Tony and McGee should be here soon with pizza and soda."

I nodded and looked at her, "Are all of you here?"

She smirked, "Just Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Abby, and myself."

I shook my head at her, "Why? You must have something better to do in late April."

She smiled at me, "Your birthday is tomorrow, is it not? Abby found out, and was quite…. Distressed that you did not tell her. We came to celebrate with you since your brother and team are gone."

Spencer and Derek were very sore about that fact too. Penny had even had to go. They had promised me that we would have another celebration when they got home. But my friends made up for it, Trish going so far as to say that she'd tie me up at my favorite Chinese restaurant and force feed me if I didn't go. And everyone else agreed with her.

They were nuts. But I loved them dearly.

I smiled back at her, "Abby's going to kill me, isn't she?"

Ziva laughed, "More than likely."

My heart soared, and I felt suddenly warm. It was nice, laughing with Ziva in the kitchen like this. I felt like I had a sister. A real sister. Adding to that, she had just given me what could be called 'sisterly advice'.

I ducked my head with a small smile.

"I was going to ask how you got inside, but I have a feeling that I don't want to know the answer." I said as I spun towards the pantry. Even if Tony was bringing pizza, I was still starving.

I began to dig through the cabinet to find the cookies Derek had hidden last time he, Penny, me, and Spencer had had a movie night. I finally found them and opened the package, I handed a few to Ziva and took a few myself before putting them back.

Ziva munched on them and raised an appraising eyebrow at me, "Are you injured? Is your shoulder still hurting? You are favoring it."

I smiled sheepishly at her and replied, "Uh, Jinhai doesn't pull his punches, and sometimes I don't dodge quick enough, so I hit the ground on my shoulder. It's still a bit sore, but overall it's okay. He's uh…. Also getting kind of…. Suspicious as to why I don't take these off."

I held up my wrists, where the thick leather bracelets lay.

Ziva's features softened, and she put her cookies down on the counter and gently took my wrists. I let her with resignation and she removed the bracelets.

The area circling the wrist no longer hurt, but the scars were still there. If I didn't focus on something else, I would remember when I had pulled at the ropes binding them hard enough to make them bleed. But, I had seen another psychologist in Virginia, and she had really helped. Even if she had been horrified to learn about what I went through.

I no longer had panic attacks frequently, just every once and a while, but that was more due to my friends rather than the shrink. Eric figured out quickly that I had panic attacks, and calmed me down each time. I had finally told him the reason why I had them, and soon all of my other friends found out. They didn't treat me too differently, but they were more wary of what could be a trigger point, and avoided talking about them.

Eric knew which areas to push on my neck that made me calm almost instantly, and when I had asked him how he knew where to look, he laughed and told me that he was raised around horses and cows. There was a spot, right behind their ears or where their necks connected to their shoulder, that if rubbed would calm them down. Human's had the same thing.

Either way, it worked very well. Plus, Eric gave really good massages.

Ziva looked pained, as though the marks I wore had hurt her too.

"I'm…. sorry. Kiles. Truly. If we had been quicker in finding you…"

I cut her off my grabbing her hands, "No. Don't do that, Ziva. Don't you dare do that to yourself. It wasn't your fault. Alright? You did what you could, and you still found me. That's what matters. Okay? You found me. You rescued me. I'm healing. I won't say I'm not broken, but I'm mending. So don't you dare feel guilty about these, Ziva. You know what they mean? They mean I lived. I'm a survivor, and a fighter. And I learned both from you."

She looked up at me, and I smiled at her. A true, honest smile. And she returned a smile. But hers looked proud.

"You are correct. You are a survivor, and you lived to tell your story." She murmured quietly.

I put a hand on her shoulder, "We both have."

The next smile she gave me was innocent, and happy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sapphire here. Wow, you know, that line sounds awesome in my head but is probably really freaking corny. Oh well!**

 **So, a few of you may have noticed that Ziva might not be there just for Kiley's birthday. It is very suspicious.**

 **Leave me a review as to what you think is going on! You can have satisfaction if you get it right….. I don't have anything else I could give you.….**

 **Anyway, I love hearing from you guys, and you could do super sluthing for this chapter! I'll leave you hints as to what it is, if you pay attention you could figure it out…**

 **ST**

When the doorbell rang, I got up to open it, but Ziva was up and moving to the door before I could even get to my feet. I stared after her with my mouth open, before grumpily saying, "If you want to answer the door so badly, you could have just said so."

She ignored me and looked through the peephole. To my surprise, her hand was ghosting over her gun. Seriously? Do I have to be that prepared?

Tony's annoyed voice wafted through the door, "Come on, Ziva! Open the door already!"

Ziva sighed, shaking her head, and opened the door slowly.

The moment it was open, Tony charged in holding a stack of pizza boxes. McGee followed after him, shaking his head in fond exasperation. Abby was next, bubbly as always. And Gibbs was last. Predictably, he had a coffee in his hand.

They filed into the apartment, which seemed roomy when it was nearly empty, but now seemed to be too crowed. I didn't mind it though.

I walked towards them all with a giddy grin on my face. Abby beamed when she saw me, and wrapped her arms around me in a crushing hug.

"My sister from another mister!" Abby squealed in my ear.

I laughed and hugged her tighter. "Good to see you too, Abby."

I could see Ziva's confusion, so I continued, "Ziva, it doesn't mean that either my father or Abby's had more than one daughter with more than one woman. It just means that Abby views me as a sister in bond, not in blood."

Ziva nodded at my words and pointed between the two of questioningly. I nodded with a small smile.

Her lips rose, and her eyes brightened, before darkening significantly. Before I could ask her what was wrong, Abby released me and I was caught up into Tony's embrace. Not that I wasn't happy to hug him, I was a bit confused as to why he was hugging me so tightly. I don't think I'd received any death threats lately. And if I had, he wouldn't know about them. So why all the sudden touchy grabby?

McGee was next, and that confused me more than Tony. I had hugged McGee before I left, but it was just a pat on the back and a ruffle of my hair. Not this death grip that he had me in.

When he released me, he gave some sort of normalcy and ruffled my hair with a small smile.

I smiled back, but immediately started analyzing all of them. Ziva had made sure that she was the one who opened the door, and her hand was on her gun. Tony had hugged me tightly, and didn't let go after a few seconds, like his normal hugs. McGee was the same. He had a death grip on me, like he was scared I would vanish if he let go. Tony was worried, but he kept up his cocky grin as he walked towards the kitchen intent on getting plates. His gaze kept flicking towards the windows, and his hand rested almost nonchalantly above his gun.

Abby was hovering near my shoulders instead of prancing around the apartment like I expected her too. Ziva was leaning against the wall, the picture of relaxed calm, but also the picture of a perfect mask. She was wary, she was tense, and I half expected her to leap at something.

McGee was walking around the apartment, closing blinds. Gibbs was the only one in the apartment that was calm as he sipped his coffee. But his hand was on my shoulder, resting there like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I felt my heart rate increase. Why were they here? What was wrong? Why were they worried? Were they in trouble? Was **I** in trouble?

I found myself getting tense, and fought to control my breathing and maintain the perfect, happy mask. It's fine. I'm sure it's nothing. Normal precautions. We can enjoy a nice night, eating pizza, drinking soda, and enjoying each other's company. It's _fine_.

I wished that I could manipulate myself, not just others. Then I could tell myself to calm down, and I'd be calm. Instead of just looking and sounding like I was calm.

I turned and walked towards my bedroom, breaking away from Abby and Gibbs, muttering about having something I wanted to show them.

Once I was in the safety and seclusion of my room, I sighed and sunk down into my desk chair, opening up a drawer so that way if anyone walked in, I'd at least look like I was looking for something. In reality, I was trying to calm myself down. Otherwise I'd be jumping at shadows for the rest of the night.

I found myself rubbing the base of my neck, it wasn't as effective as when someone else did it, but it worked. I sighed and leaned my head against the cold desk. I was beyond happy to see the friends who had quickly become my family, but worried as to why they were here. They could have just called to wish me a happy birthday; instead they drove down, just to tell me happy birthday then pop off in a few days? No. That wasn't how they worked. It messed up their profiles. Abby might do it, and Gibbs would follow her if she asked because he was a good father figure like that. But everyone else?

It was confusing. I normally loved puzzles, but this one was going to get very annoying, very quickly. Or it was going to give me a headache.

The door opened and I jumped, violently, and my chair tipped backwards. I yelped as I hit the ground and backflipped over the chair due to my momentum. I groaned and hit my head on the ground. My fault. Partly. If someone hadn't opened the door like a pop gun, it wouldn't have scared me so much.

Hands wrapped around my arms and yanked me to my feet. It was Tony.

"Are you okay?" He asked urgently. I could see the thinly veiled panic behind his eyes and nodded, if nothing else to try and calm him down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" I fired back as gently as I could.

Tony laughed, but it sounded a bit forced.

"Course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be?" He asked, slightly arrogant.

I sighed, "Uh, maybe because you're a bit jittery tonight? Maybe because everyone is? Why are you guys really here?"

Tony seemed momentarily surprised, but covered it quickly. "Either we are really bad actors, or you are a really good profiler already."

I brushed away the attempt at diversion with flattery and pressed, "Tony, I'll be jumping at shadows if you don't tell me what's going on. I'm glad you guys are here to celebrate me turning 17 and all, but why are you really here?"

He was silent, and I could see guilt flash in his eyes before his mask slid back into place. He slung an arm over my shoulders and began pulling me out of my room, "For pizza! Plus, it was getting extremely boring at the office all the time."

I sighed, I'd have to ask again later. Right now, it wouldn't do me any good.

"Fine. But, just so you know, I'm told I can be very manipulative to get what I want. I'll figure it out eventually, so if you don't tell me, I'll have to go digging myself." I huffed good naturedly.

But Tony paled and turned me quickly so I was facing him. He gave me a shockingly serious expression, his eyes held some sort of fear in them. Fear and guilt.

Tony, what did you do?

"Promise me, Kiley. You promise me right now, you will not go looking for anything. Don't dig up anything. Don't talk to people you don't know. Don't go out alone. And don't go digging by yourself." His tone was dead serious, and he was almost pleading with me to agree with him.

Alarmed, I nodded. Tony shook his head and shook my shoulders slightly, "Out loud. Please, Kiley."

My eyes widened, but I nodded again and said, "I promise I will not go digging by myself. I promise I won't talk to someone I don't know. And I promise not to go anywhere by myself. Is that good enough?"

Tony nodded, and instantly his cocky smile was back in place and his arm was slung over my shoulders again. Like we hadn't just had the weirdest conversation in the middle of the hall.

We got back to the kitchen, and I smiled and laughed with everyone as we ate our pizza. But my mind was occupied with all the other information.

Like how Ziva knocked away a box sitting innocently on the ground next to me. Or how Abby rooted through my backpack, actually turning it over, and saying 'I wanted to see what you've been up to!' instead of asking me if I could get it out for her. She searched my entire backpack, and nearly took apart my iPod in her quest. Ziva glared at the offending music player as though it was about to explode.

I fought back a sigh. Gibbs was still the same, but he sat close to me, and seemed to follow me throughout the house. I really couldn't take much more of this, I needed some ounce of normalcy.

I stood and pulled out my phone, walking slightly away from the laughter of the others. I could feel Gibbs' eyes on me as I walked into my bedroom and dialed a number.

"Hello?" A voice answered. She sounded slightly drunk. She was 21, so I really shouldn't be surprised.

"Trisha." I breathed out in relief that she had answered.

"Oh! Hey girl! What's up?" Her voice sounded steadier now, so she hadn't had too much to drink, yet.

"Well, some friends are visiting out of town, and currently are having a party of sorts at my house…." I trailed off, not exactly sure what I wanted her to do. Did I want her to come over and help me with them? Did I want her to attempt to kidnap me? Maybe both?

Thankfully, Trish knew what I needed and said, "I'll be there in like, 10 minutes. Think you can survive until then?"

I sighed in relief, "I think so. Just hurry please. They're starting to freak me out. You'll understand when you get here."

"Sure thing, we're friends. It's what friends do." She replied, sounding suddenly sober. Then she shouted, "Hey Jace! Get your butt over here! Killey needs our help!" That was a running joke in our group of friends. Trisha had seen my name upside down, and since she had dyslexia, she'd thought it was kill ey, instead of Kiley. Everyone else had heard it, and now it had become my official nickname.

I heard a scramble, then a crash, and a drunk Jason seized the phone, "Heeeeeyyy. You wouldn't believe it… We were juss talking bout youj." He was very drunk apparently.

I laughed through the phone, "Who else is there?"

Jason thought about it for a minute, "Uhhhh… Luuucusss, and Miche… _hic_ … Michelle." Eric and I were the youngest in our little pack. Jason was 21, Lucas was 21, and Michelle was 22.

I rolled my eyes as Trisha jerked the phone back, "Drink some water or something you dumbass. We're going to Killey's place, so get Michelle, who is not drunk, and tell her to call Eric. We might need all the help we can get." Trisha was carefully pronouncing her words, like she was speaking to a child.

Faintly, I heard an, "Aye aye captain…."

I snickered and Trish moaned, "Just wait till your old enough, Killey. Then you can babysit these morons."

"You make it sound like you aren't planning on letting me go." I teased the hot head.

Trish snorted, "Please. We're the type of friends that will sneak out of the resting home together and get hammered." Trish liked her tequila, and had already promised that she'd be the first person to introduce me to alcohol when I reached a semi legal age. That meant at least older than 19.

I laughed in reply, already feeling more relaxed. "Thanks, Trish. Really." I told her earnestly.

There was silence on the other end, then Trish said, "What have your other friends done? Do I need to bash some heads when I get there? I mean, I've got the shoes to do it."

I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck, "No, it's just… They said they're here for my birthday tomorrow," Before she could ask I interjected, "Yes, I'm still up for Chinese. Anyway, I'm getting the feeling that something is going on. And they won't tell me what it is. I mean, they work for NCIS. They have cases to work on, and it's late April. I tried to get some of them to tell me, but they close off and get jittery. I just…. I need somebody who won't treat me like glass tonight. I'm grateful they're here, but I want them to relax and have fun. But they refuse to do that."

"Say no more, girl. We're on our way. Michelle woke up our sleeping giant, it's only like, 10 pm and he's asleep, so he's on his way to pick us up in his hummer." Trish said. I could hear that she was moving.

"8 minutes?" I asked.

"And counting." Trish responded. "We'll see you soon, girl. Hang in there."

I hung up the phone, very grateful for my friends, and walked back out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

And walked right into Tony. He gave a very girlish scream, and I leapt back against the wall. That's how the others found us soon after. Me, braced against the wall with one hand gripping the doorframe and the other hand clutching at my heart, because I could swear that Tony just tried to give me a heart attack, and Tony, sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, trying to get his breath back, with his hand on his chest because I just gave him a heart attack.

Abby erupted in giggles, Ziva grinned, Gibbs smirked, and McGee went straight for the teasing, "You're looking a little pale there, Tony."

Tony glared up at him half-heartedly, "Shut it, McScaredyCat. You aren't much better."

McGee just smiled wider and turned to me, I pointed a threatening finger at him, "Don't. Even. Start."

He held up his hands in surrender, but his eyes still held the twinkle of mischief.

Abby pried me away from the doorframe and pulled me towards the living room, "Come on! There's still cookies to devour!"

McGee helped Tony up, and we made our way over to the living room.

That's where, exactly 8 minutes later, I was found, draped across Ziva's, Abby's and Tony's laps on the couch when the doorbell rang. Before anyone else could even try to get up, I leapt up and over the couch and was at the door, looking through the peephole.

I grinned widely and flung it open, much to my NCIS friend's dismay. They all tensed up, even Abby, as my college friends filed in.

Trish was wearing a dark crimson dress that went just above her knees, and was figure hugging. She had on 3 inch black strap on heels, and walked with purpose, if slightly staggering. Her normal height was 5'8, but now she was as tall as I was. Her dark green eyes were narrowed, and her wild red hair was curling every which way where it hung around her shoulders.

Jason was still drunk, but was happy nonetheless. He had on a white t-shirt (that was miraculously still white), a black leather jacket, ripped jeans, and black converse. He gave me a goofy grin as he staggered in, supported partly by Lucas.

Lucas had short blonde hair with frosted tips that was spiked up most of the time, warm brown eyes, tan skin, and a lean physique. He wore a dark blue, figure hugging, t-shirt that showed off his abs and arm muscle, a dark blue faded jean jacket, a black scarf, dark blue skinny jeans, lace up boots without the laces, and a multitude of leather bracelets adorning his wrists.

Michelle had dark brown hair, bright green eyes, and pale skin dotted with freckles. Trish had somehow managed to convince her to put on a tight, dark blue strapless dress and crimson heels that made her a lot taller than she normally was (5'3). Her eyes with bright and she was completely sober, normally being the designated person to get everyone else home.

Eric staggered in next, and I couldn't suppress the fond smile that danced on my lips.

He was half asleep, his blond hair in disarray from sleeping, his blue eyes were half closed in sleep, and he wore a mussed t-shirt that hugged his muscular frame, shorts, and boots. An odd mix.

I reached up and ruffled his hair, "Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" I chirped cheerfully.

He huffed and leaned his head against my shoulder as Trish shut the door.

"Why must you wake me from my peaceful sleep? I was having a wonderful dream. All of us were at a lake back at home, fishing and swimming." He murmured against my collarbone.

I laughed and mussed his hair up even more and replied, "We'll have to do that someday."

He straightened, beamed at me, nodded, then shuffled towards the kitchen. Probably to start coffee.

I turned back to my team and gestured with a smile, "Meet my new friends. The one currently raiding the kitchen for coffee is Eric, the one in the pizza box is Jason, the one in my bookshelf is Michelle, the one raiding the cookies is Lucas, and the one glaring at all of you is Trisha. Guys, this is my NCIS family. Tony, Tim, Abby, Gibbs, and Ziva." I pointed to each one in turn.

Michelle murmured a light greeting, but didn't look up from the book captivating her attention, though I did see her studying me from the corner of her eye. Lucas waved cheerful with his mouth full of cookies, still swaying lightly, no doubt from his favorite drink, Gin on the rocks.

Jason grinned happily with two slices of meat lovers pizza dangling from his hand and waved with one of the pizzas, slurring out a "Hiiiiiii. Are you guys the ones making…" Lucas clapped a hand over his mouth and hissed something to him, before smiling at the NCIS team with a 'Sorry, he's an idiot' look.

Trish glared at all of them, sizing them up, and stood taller. The hot headed Irishwoman was probably trying to figure out why they were really here. And why they had upset me. One group of overprotective friends, meet the first. Or, more accurately, pot, meet kettle.

Ziva stepped up to Trish, looked her up and down, then held out a hand, "Hello. My name is Ziva David."

Trish smiled wickedly and took the offered hand, "Trisha McCoy. Pleasure to meet ya." Her parents had moved from Ireland to America when she was 10, but she still slipped into her Irish accent if she was tired, angry, or wanted to intimidate someone.

Same for Eric actually, but he slipped into his southern accent at the drop of a hat.

Eric popped his head out of the kitchen, calling, "Kil, where is the little coffee cup thingies?" He held up his fingers, making the size of the things he wanted.

Lucas laughed, "You mean the single serve k-cups?" Good, he wasn't completely drunk.

Eric snapped his fingers and pointed at Lucas, "Yes. I know she had some last time, 'cause I brought my favorite flavor here since we all spend a lot of time here anyway." He was slipping into his Louisiana accent again.

I snickered and began to walk into the kitchen, "I don't know where you put them, you were the one that hid them from my brother."

Lucas walked towards us, dragging Jason along, and said, "We'll help you find them!"

Michelle put her book down and asked, "Hey, Kiley, could I borrow some sweats and a t-shirt? This dress keeps sliding up."

I waved her towards my bedroom, "Sure, you know where they are." Then I vanished into the kitchen.

I heard Trish growl something that sounded suspiciously like, "Stay." Before she walked in after us and shut the door.

NCIS

I found the cups and asked Eric to make me a chocolate cappuccino after he made his coffee, then sat down at the island.

We were all silent as we waited for Michelle to come back in.

She returned with her dress slung over her arm, her heels in one hand, and another pair of sweats and a shirt for Trish. Since they usually crashed at my place if they had drank too much, or if we studied too late, or if they just didn't want to be alone (We all had our issues) all of them had several pairs of clothes here. All of which were in my room.

Trish took them gratefully and vanished around the corner to change quickly. As much as Trish loved making an entrance and getting people's attention, she liked being comfortable.

By the time she got back and deposited her clothes next to Michelle's, Eric and I were nursing our coffees, Lucas was making Jason drink the Gatorade I usually kept stocked in the fridge and he was drinking one himself, and Michelle had a glass of water in her hand.

I handed Trish a Gatorade, which she gratefully took.

Then she sat down next to me and said, "Mind filling us in? What's really going on?"

NCIS

I finished telling them my suspicions and silence reined for a few moments.

Before they could begin speaking, the NCIS team walked inside. Abby walked straight over to me and hugged me, "We're going to head back to our hotel. It was great to see you, Kiles!"

The others nodded and McGee asked, "Are you going to be alright on your own tonight?"

Before I could answer, Trish piped up with, "Oh, she won't be alone. We'll be stayin with her." She glared evenly at them, daring them to defy her.

Gibbs' lips quirked up, but he didn't disagree with her. Instead saying, "Call us if you need us. We'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

The he turned on his heel and led the rest of them out of the kitchen.

A part of me wanted to be a nice hostess and escort them out, the other part didn't want to leave Trish's steadying hand on my arm.

I heard the door close, then the lock turned, and I sighed.

Instantly, Michelle spoke, "I don't know exactly what is going on with your other friends, but they didn't seem to like us. They were extremely wary of all of us, especially Eric and Trish."

I sighed and scrubbed a hand across my face, "Normally, they'd be fine with you. But this is what I'm talking about. They're acting weird, more overprotective than they were before."

"Maybe they were remembering what happened a few months ago." Lucas said warily.

I shook my head, "No. It wouldn't bother them so much. Something happened, something that Tony might have done if the way he's acting says anything. It's so frustrating! They won't tell me anything, and their anxiety is wearing off on me! I'm jumping at shadows now! Believing that some psycho is going to come out swimming a chainsaw at me or something."

Trish snickered and I gave her a half-hearted glare. "You're a big help." I muttered dejectedly.

That got all of them to smile, and Eric patted my head gently, "Don't worry about it Kil. We'll make sure nothing bad happens."

Trish nodded with a smile, "Yeah! Wouldn't want our youngest to get hurt before she even turned 17! Besides, your birthday is tomorrow. We're all going to go out, have fun all day, then eat Chinese until we pop. Your NCIS friends can tag along if they like, but they aren't going to ruin the fun planned day. It's Saturday tomorrow, it's supposed to be fun, not boring, anyways!"

The rest of them cheered, and if Jason almost fell over mid cheer, we didn't mention it.

I smiled at them all, "What would I do without you guys?"

Jason shrugged, again almost falling, and again being held up by Lucas, and said, "Crash and burn maybe?"

I snorted, "That's rich coming from a pyro like yourself."

He gave me a mock offended look, but before we could start another verbal battle, Michelle spoke up while she stood, "Let's have a movie marathon. We're all still hungry, minus you and Eric, so we can go out, get an oven pizza, chips and dip, and more soda, then we can watch a movie."

Lucas nodded with a grin, "I vote Texas Chainsaw Massacre." He looked at all of us with a sly grin, "Too soon?"

I laughed and shook my head, "Naw. Then we can watch 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'." I refused to watch horror films with my brother, he over analyzed everything. It was funny sometimes, but I also liked get thoroughly creeped out by them. Spencer eliminated the chance of the happening.

Probably on purpose knowing how sneaky he is.

NCIS

So that's how we were found, an hour later, spread out around the living room with pizzas and sodas in our hands.

Jason was sprawled in one of the armchairs, still nursing the 'Cool Blue' Gatorade (His favorite flavor) while munching on the pepperoni pizza that Michelle had gotten, Lucas was on the ground with his back against the coffee table, his attention caught by the gore of the massacre, with one pizza slice hovering between his mouth and the plate in his distracted state, Michelle was on the other armchair, curled into a ball with a blanket on her lap, nursing a root beer and a cheese slice, and Eric, Trish, and I took up the couch. My head and shoulders were pillowed in Trish's lap, and my feet were propped up on Eric's knees.

Eric had a plate full of pizza slices balanced on my legs, and a root beer was on the table in front of us. Trish was mostly the same, only she had a pepsi. I had a plate full of cheese pizza slices balanced on my stomach as I watched the movie.

They figured out very quickly that I sprawled wherever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. They didn't seem to mind though, they just returned the favor. Although, Jason collapsed on top of me when he wanted to.

By the time we switched movies, Eric was half asleep, and Jason was snoring on the armchair with his plate resting on his arm, cuddling with the now empty Gatorade bottle.

I sighed and stood up, taking the plates from everyone and other discarded items. When I came back, I had an armful of blankets and pillows. I dumped them into a pile near the couch and took one out to throw onto Jason, who immediately snuggled into it.

I shook my head in fond exasperation, then snagged a pillow and another blanket. Which I threw at Lucas' head to get his attention. He jumped, glared at me halfheartedly, then wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, scarf and jacket already discarded.

I threw another blanket onto Michelle, and she smiled sleepily at me.

Trish had stood up, and was snagging another blanket and pillow. She sat down next to Lucas on the floor and got comfortable.

I smiled at the two of them as I threw another blanket onto Eric's sleeping form. He sighed in his sleep and burrowed into the warmth.

I grabbed another blanket for me, wrapped it around myself, then collapsed on the couch with my head in Eric's lap.

I fell asleep with a smile on my lips shortly after.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I know everything is super sappy right now, minus the NCIS team's unexpected visit, but I promise the action is going to be coming soon! Also, I really love hearing from you guys, yet you've been suspiciously quiet...**

 **ST**

I woke up to the sound of talking. It was muffled though, so whoever was talking was probably in the other room.

I opened my eyes and found that Eric was gone, and I was alone in the living room expect for Jason, who was still fast asleep.

I yawned and stretched before jumping up from my position on the couch. I shuffled into the kitchen and muttered a sleepy, "Morning."

I got an amused look from Eric, who was cooking a delicious smelling breakfast. Lucas grinned at me and handed me a mug of coffee, still steaming warm.

I raised an eyebrow at him as I took it, "Thanks. But how did you know I'd wake up?"

He grinned wider, "I'm studying to be a doctor, remember? People do certain things when they're about to wake up. I got in here shortly after you started to wake up so I could make you your coffee. Also, think of it like payment."

I froze mid sip, "Please say you aren't going to make me do what I think you're going to make me do."

Trish nodded with an evil smile, and took the coffee from me only to replace it with two advils and a glass of water.

"Since you are the last one up, you can wake up Jason." She said without an ounce of pity.

I glared at them, "Some friends you are. Why do I have to wake the monster?"

Eric grinned at me, "Because he's nice to you. He won't yell at you in Spanish, probably, he won't hit you, and he doesn't point out everything he can find that is wrong with you on a certain day."

I scowled, "But it's so funny to see all of you get cursed at in Spanish when you, minus Eric, don't have a clue what he's saying." Jason's mother had been Spanish, so he grew up learning it before English. His mother had died at a young age though, leaving him with an abusive father that loved to beat his only child. No one else knew but me, and Eric too I guess, and only because we could understand Spanish.

I walked into the living room and set the glass of water and the pills on the table, then shook Jason gently.

"Hey, Jason, buddy, rise and shine. Come on. Wake up." I murmured gently.

He jerked away from me, and started muttering, _"No. Por favor, no me pegues. Lo siento. Lo siento. Papa, lo siento. Lo siento papa. No me pegues."_

No. Please, don't hit me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Father, I'm sorry. I'm sorry father. Don't hit me.

I sighed, I don't know why Jason drank if it brought up these memories the next day. But he drank. Thankfully, unlike his stupid father, he was a happy drunk, not an abusive one.

 _"_ _Jason, soy yo, Kiley. Estas seguro. Despertarse, por favor. Es de manana. Despertarse, Jason. Soy yo, Kiley. Jason. Estas seguro. Despertarse."_

Jason, it's me, Kiley. You are safe. Wake up, please. It is morning. Wake up, Jason. It's me, Kiley. Jason. You are safe. Wake up.

I grabbed his hand and traced patterns on the back of it while I spoke. He calmed down significantly, then rushed upwards whispering urgently, still halfway asleep.

 _"_ _Kiley! Hay que dejar! Antesde que mi padre…. No! Él no puede hacerte daño demasiado! No lo dejaré mi padre herirte!"_

Kiley! We must leave! Before my father… No! He can not hurt you too! I won't let him hurt you!

I sighed and enclosed my hand with his, _"Jason, detener. Estas seguro. Estas seguro."_

He stopped and opened his eyes. There was still some panic there, but he was calming down quickly. He focused on me, then tugged on my hand, startling me, and sent me crashing into his lap. He encircled his arms around me.

"I thought….. I'm sorry." He said. His Spanish accent was still there, but fading quickly.

I patted his hand, "It's alright. You're fine, Jason. I'm your friend. You're fine."

He sighed and released me, "Toothbrushes still in the same place?"

I nodded and stood up, pressing the pills into his hand, then the glass of water. "Your head must be killing you by now, take these, take a shower," I made a show of pretending that he stank, "Change your clothes, then come join us in the kitchen to have breakfast."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me, "I had no clue you were so bossy, Killey. Sure you aren't someone else pretending to be my friend?"

I huffed, "Sure, pyro, I'm someone completely different, and the real Killey is hiding somewhere because she doesn't want to be lit on fire."

"And that, my friends, is what is called a burn. Would you like some ice water, Jason?" Lucas' voice floated towards us, and we both turned to the doorway.

Lucas was leaning against the doorframe with a small smile on his face, he shook his head as Jason glared at him, "Who's side are you on anyway?!" He hissed.

Lucas raised his hands in surrender, "I'm just saying that you normally lose battles of wit against our dear Killey."

Eric walked into the living room, no doubt to see what was taking me so long, and Jason turned on him, "Are you on Kiley's side or mine?"

Eric looked between us, then shook his head, "Neither. I'm Switzerland."

Jason huffed, but I smirked at the answer. Jason tossed the pills into his mouth and drank the entire glass of water, he pointed a threatening finger at me and said, "I will take you down in our little battle. After this headache goes away and I don't want to vomit."

Lucas and Eric laughed, and I smirked at Jason, "It's nice to dream, isn't it?"

As I passed him on the way to my bedroom, I heard Eric hiss and say, "Need some burn medicine?"

Then Jason cursed, loudly, in Spanish, and Eric gasped, "Bless my soul! How can you bear to stand in the company of civilized gentlemen like us." He was talking in the Louisiana accent again.

I couldn't stop the laugh that erupted as I stepped into my bedroom and closed the door.

NCIS

As we waited for the biscuits that Eric was cooking to _hurry up and finish already!_ we talked about anything and everything. But leaned more towards the day we had planned. First, we'd go to the park and walk around, rough house, play tag or whatever. Then we'd go to the mall and the guys would go one way, while the girls went another, and Trish would drag me out shopping.

After that, we'd head to the Chinese restaurant.

And, because they had come so far to be with me on my birthday, even if I didn't believe them, I texted Abby about where we would be, and asked them to join us. Trish pursed her lips, but allowed it. They did save my life after all. Even Trish wouldn't deny that they earned her tolerance.

I got an enthusiastic reply that they would be meet us at the park. I warned them to bring a jacket or a scarf, it would be chilly. Even if it was late April.

When I got up, prepared to leave, Michelle and Trish had cornered me, asking me in horror, "You're wearing that?!"

They then proceeded to drag me to my room and hunt through my closet for something 'decent' to wear.

I had zero say in what they picked out. Trish sighed and began rooting through the closet again, "Something dark would fit you. Like purple or black. I'm not saying you would be a great goth, but dark colors would make your eyes a bit bolder, and make you look more fierce. You can't really play the meek role anymore, Killey."

Michelle nodded and began going through her make up bag. Mine was apparently not good enough, and we would be buying makeup today. Real makeup apparently. What that meant, I didn't know. I wasn't really sure I wanted to know. I had a feeling I'd find out by the end of the day though.

Finally Trish came out with a triumphant, "Ha!" And turned around.

My mouth fell open. I forgot I even owned that.

I shook my head, "Why did you have to pick that?!"

Trish grinned, "Because it would look awesome on you! Change into it!" She ordered as she threw the clothes on my lap. I sighed and retreated to the bathroom to change into it. When I bought it, I had thought that I would be going to a college dance. It was a few days before my dad kicked me out, so I lost interest in the dance shortly after.

But I still had it. Yay me.

I changed and stared at myself in the mirror. Spencer would have a stroke if he saw me, and I hadn't even gone through the torture of having Trish and Michelle attack my hair and face with products.

I wore dark blue skinny jeans that fit snuggly, as my mother would say, it would turn heads. Then the calf high leather boots (With, of course, the knife shoved into one of them) that I had tucked the jeans into. Then the upper body….

I had to wear a black tank top underneath it because the v neck went so low. It was a dark purple v neck that was comfortable, but clingy. It showed off my curves, and I found out that I actually did have curves. But was somehow still lean. My mother had always said that purple was Spencer's (and mine) good color, because it accented our white skin and complemented our eyes. The black tank top really didn't do much, since it was low cut too. But it hid my chest, so yay for that.

However, it barely covered my shoulders, to my collarbones were visible. It was sleeveless, and still managed to be comfortable.

And, because I was still self-conscious about how I looked, a dark blue jean jacket was thrown over the top of everything. Covering enough, but still allowing the outfit to play peek-a-boo to the world.

I'd probably throw a purple scarf on later, just to cover my neck and hopefully not get sick on my birthday.

I walked back out and the previous chatter Trish and Michelle had been maintaining grinded to a halt. They stared up at me with their mouths wide.

"I… um…." Michelle was stuttering. Great.

"I didn't know you had that in you girl!" Trish shouted, leaping to her feet and rushing over to me. "You look like a model or something! Doesn't she Michelle?"

Michelle nodded slowly. They had changed while I was, and now Trish wore a dark green blouse that clung to her every curve, a black leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and combat boots. Her eyeliner was thick and made her green eyes pop out and draw attention. Her red hair hung around her shoulders in waves, and her lips were as red as her hair.

Michelle had on a soft yellow shirt that lit up her face and made her glow, baby blue jeans, converse, and a brown jacket. She had on soft makeup, but it still drew attention to her fair features.

Trish led me over to my desk, which they had made into an impromptu makeup studio, and began attacking me with vigor.

Michelle had control of my hair, and to be honest I was kind of scared of what she was doing to it.

Meanwhile, Trish had control over my face. I was even more scared of what she was doing.

I kept my eyes firmly closed until Trish started applying eyeliner and I had to open them. I avoided looking at the mirror though, and as soon as she was done, closed my eyes again.

Finally, after about 20 minutes of torture, I was yanked to my feet, led over to something, then ordered to open my eyes.

I did, and couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath that escaped me. Just like when Abby got a hold of me, I didn't know the person staring at me in the mirror.

My hair cascaded around my shoulders in soft curls, and was darker than I remember it being. My eyes were bold and striking, thick eyeliner surrounded them and purple eyeshadow either made them black or brought out the blue, I couldn't decide which because they kept shifting. My lips were dark purple, and seemed more pouty than usual. A light purple blush made my cheekbones appear higher. And overall I looked older.

I wore the sapphire blue pendant Spen had gotten me, dark blue earrings dangled from my ears, and a dark blue ring adorned my middle finger that I didn't remember having.

I looked questioningly at Trish and she grinned, "Birthday present. Happy birthday girl!"

She hugged me tightly, and when I returned it, dragged Michelle into it too.

"Thank you guys. I look….. different. A good different, but different." I mumbled. To be honest, I look like someone who commanded attention in a room, who was proud of the way they looked, and embraced it. I looked like a leader, someone who back down from a fight. I looked like a fighter. Trish was right, I really needed to stop the whole 'meek' act. It wasn't me. Ziva had made sure of that.

Plus, with as much trouble as I get into, the look might help me in the long run. Or it could cause more trouble.

Although, I definitely liked the dark blue eyeliner.


	8. Chapter 8

I walked out the door and towards the kitchen with Trish leading the way and Michelle half a step behind me.

When we walked into the kitchen, again, conversation grinded to a halt.

Jason whistled and Trish beamed at me, "I know right? Who knew our sweet little innocent Killey could be such a head turner!"

Eric had his mouth wide open, and Lucas was looking between us with a fond expression. Like he knew something we didn't.

I shook my head and tapped on my leg, "Guys, I'm still me. So can we go now?"

Lucas nodded and slung his arm over my shoulder, leading the way out. "Sure thing, Killey. Just know that we aren't leaving you at all today, couldn't have someone do something to you."

I elbowed him and laughed, "Suuuure. Because I totally would let that happen to me. I still have the knife in my boot by the way."

He snapped his fingers, "Oh, that reminds me. We still have birthday gifts to give you!"

He led me into the living room and gently pushed me onto the couch. He vanished around the corner while everyone else shuffled in.

"We went back to our houses to get them." Eric explained before I could ask how these mysterious gifts showed up.

That also explained why Eric was now wearing dark blue wranglers, a different pair of boots, a dark blue button up western shirt, and why there was a black hat hanging on a peg next to a dress jacket. Also western.

Lucas was, of course, looking runway ready in his dark blue jeans, black converse, red shirt, black leather jacket, and blue scarf. His hair was spiked up and ready to face the day.

Jason was also runway ready, and had on black jeans, black tennis shoes, a dark blue shirt, and a brown leather jacket with the collar popped up. His blonde hair was hanging over his eyes slightly, and would probably have the desired effect on any female he would talk to today.

Eric was holding a box in his hand, which looked very unassuming. It was narrow and long, so I knew it wasn't a book. Maybe a necklace?

"I told you guys not to get me anything." I argued weakly, already knowing that everything I said was knocked down before it came out of my mouth.

As expected, I was just given looks like 'How dumb are you?' and they carried on getting their gifts. I resolved to just go all out on their birthdays. I could be very thoughtful if I put my mind to it.

All of them converged back to me with boxes in their hands. Michelle handed me hers first, shy hope was blooming her in expression, and I smiled up at her, "Thank you, Michelle. You didn't have to, but thank you."

She gave me a small smile and I turned back to the box in my hands. I pulled apart the wrapping carefully, and couldn't help but smile at the book in my hand. It was of the priceless kind. A scrapbook. I opened it reverently, brushing my fingers along the rugged spine gently, and smiled tenderly at the picture inside the first page.

The letters sparkled and were a deep, dark blue. My favorite color. It read 'Best Friends Forever'. Directly underneath that, was a picture of all of us at the zoo. Lucas had on ridiculous tiger ears, and was smirking at the camera. He was the reason the rest of us were laughing.

Jason had his arm slung over Trisha's shoulders, and both of them were mid laugh. Jason laugh was expressive, and he had his head thrown back and an open, happy look on his face. Trisha's laugh was very expressing, her eyes crinkled around the edges, her mouth was wide in uproarious laughter, and the warmth in her eyes made me feel warm.

Michelle was hugging Lucas' side, and she was grinning at the camera mid giggle.

Then there was Eric and I. Eric threw his body into his laughter, and was bent over my shoulder laughing. I was laughing while also trying to keep Eric on his feet, but my eyes were closed in happy laughter, and I was crumpling from the weight of Eric on my shoulder.

I quickly flicked through the pages, and the tender look never left my face.

On the next page, I was leaning against Eric's side, reading an Italian book, struggling to get the pronunciation right. My face was concentrated, but not frustrated. I was happy. Eric was looking at me with an impossibly fond look that bordered on adoration. Michelle had made the whole picture glow with a warm yellow light that was only slightly muted.

Michelle did want to be a professional photographer. And she was apparently very sneaky with her picture taking.

The next one was of me. I was alone, and sitting on the counter in Eric's house. I had one leg folded underneath me and my head was leaning against my bent knee. A book was in my hand, a thick book that Jason had found in the library. My expression was relaxed, content, and intrigued. I don't know how I was comfortable in positions like those, but I was.

Before I could go further and wind up crying, and I looked back up at Michelle with the same tender smile. "Thank you." Those two simple words had never held enough meaning.

Michelle seemed to get it, and dipped her head, but a content smile stretched across her face.

Lucas, curious as to what brought the look up, looked over my shoulder and grinned, "Man! We should have gone first! I don't think any of us will be able to top that."

I laughed as his gift was thrust into my hand. "It's not much compared to Michelle's, but hopefully you'll like it."

I smiled up at him, giving him a 'duh' look.

I opened the box and looked inside. I found myself grinning, and pulled out twin leather bracelets. One was black, and had a white yang symbol. The other was white, and had a black yin symbol.

"Thank you, Lucas. How you knew I was looking for new ones, I'm not sure I want to know."

Lucas gave me a secret smile and winked, "I noticed you were attached to your old ones, and they were getting quite worn. Plus, as Eric so affectionately called me earlier, we gentlemen never kiss and tell."

I raised an eyebrow at his response, but wisely chose not to comment.

Next, Trish pushed something into my lap. "I know I already got you the ring, but I figured you might want a bit more than that."

I gave her a look, but looked down at the package. I raised a questioning eyebrow, but unwrapped it. As soon as the packaging was off, something slithered off into my lap. First I thought she had trapped a snake in wrapping paper, a live snake. But as I went to pick it up, I realized it was a scarf. I dark blue scarf with black tints thrown in everywhere. It shimmered lightly, and the fabric slid through my fingers in an oddly addicting way. Vaguely, I realized that it was the same color as the new ring.

I wrapped it around my neck, and grinned as I moved and it didn't slither off. Plus, it was surprisingly warm.

"Thanks, Trish." I said with a grin.

She grinned back, "Figured you'd like it."

Jason was next, and he plopped onto the couch next to me and handed me a heavy package. "Figured you'd need a new jacket. The one you have looks like you've had it for years."

I laughed at him, "You're not supposed to tell me what it is before I open it."

He shrugged, giving me a happy go lucky grin.

I opened the package, and felt my breath hitch at the black leather that greeted me. It was the soft kind of leather that doesn't restrict movement. I held it up with a smile, "Thanks, Jace."

He clapped me on the shoulder, "Of course! Happy birthday, Killey. Check the pocket."

I stuck my hand into the pocket he pointed towards, and came out with something connected to a silver chain. It was a locket. I opened it, and smiled. It was a picture of the six of us at the park, sitting underneath a willow tree, leaning against each other and smiling.

I grinned, and slung the chain over my head. The locket came to rest right above Spencer's pendant, and I decided to wear both of them.

I stood up and shed my jean jacket, then slung the leather on. It fit comfortably, and went slightly past my hips. It was a bit big, but I adored it instantly.

I gave him a blinding grin, then turned towards Eric. My giant friend walked towards me and held out the box with shaking hands. "Uh, sorry if the quality isn't…. on par… but I learned how to etch when I was in middle school. I hadn't done it in years. I practiced with as much metal as I could get my hands on, but I don't know if you'll like it or not…. And the stamping I was good at in highschool but..."

I shook my head at him fondly, "Of course I'll like it. It's from you."

A blush quickly covered his face, and he ducked his head. Even if that was an ineffective block since I could still clearly see him, I turned my attention to the box.

I opened the black box and found black material wrapped the gift. I picked up the black material and found a leather belt. It was stamped with lettering.

'Kiley Reid' was stamped on it in curving, graceful letters. I grinned at Eric and turned my attention back to the belt; there was a holster attached to it with a snap close. It also was stamped with graceful curves, and several roses. It was the right length for either a gun or a knife.

There was also a compartment along the back of it that was just big enough for a knife to go in and be successfully hidden from the world.

I grinned gleefully and turned to thank him, but he just pointed to the box and mumbled, "There's more inside."

I looked back down to the box, and my breath caught in my throat. A silver blade stared back at me. It was a throwing knife, but the hilt had been wrapped in dark blue leather. The best part was what was on the blade.

 _'_ _Combattente'_ Was written in elegant lettering on one side of the blade. Fighter in Italian.

I flipped the blade over, and was met with more elegant lettering, _'Cuore'_ Heart. Eric's way of telling me I had a fighter's heart.

I threw my arms around him, nearly dropping both the box and the belt in the process, and he huffed in surprise before wrapping his arms around me with equal vigor.

"Glad you like it." He rumbled, and I could feel the vibrations run through his chest as he said it.

"Thank you." I murmured back.


	9. Chapter 9

We were at the park now, sitting by the lake and waiting for my NCIS friends to show.

I had changed bracelets, and kept fiddling with them.

For the sake of politeness to other people, I had taken the holster off of my new belt, but had still shoved the knife into the compartment. It fit snuggly, and you couldn't even see it unless you were A) really close and B) if you knew where to look in the first place.

It rested in a spot that I could curve my arm around and get the knife with my fingers, then pull it out. It might be useful to have another concealed knife now. Especially with how jumpy the team was lately.

I bit my lip, trying again to think of any logical answer for their behavior. I found myself wishing that my brother was here, he was a behavioral detective after all.

I paused, he couldn't be here, but I could call him. I don't know why I didn't think of that before.

Stepped a bit away from my friends, but still in their line of view (Now they were starting to get paranoid too) and dialed my brother's number. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Kiley? Happy Birthday!" His voice came from the other end. He sounded exhausted.

Making a split second decision, I chirped cheerfully back, "Hey Spen! Thanks! My friends are already making sure it is a happy birthday. I just want to call and check in on how you were doing. Any headway with the case so far?"

Knowing him, he hasn't slept well already, and it was proving to be a difficult case. There was no sense in worrying him further, especially when it might not be anything at all.

I heard a sigh, "Not really. But you shouldn't worry about that right now." Pot meet kettle. "Hopefully we'll finish up soon. I think we're getting closer to catching the unsub, so we might make it back within a two week time period."

I stifled a sigh, "Alright. Just be careful, okay?"

There was a pause, "You too. Sorry, Hotch is coming in. We're giving our profile, I'll talk to you later."

Then he promptly hung up.

I sighed, tossing the phone back and forth in my hands, and tried not to think about what had gotten the team so on edge. It had something to do with me. Otherwise they would be far, far away from me.

Tony had been guilty about something, so maybe he pissed someone off? And said someone happened to know about me? But why would they go after me? I was states away. It didn't make sense!

I had been right in my assumption last night. This was going to give me a headache. It already was.

I sighed and put my phone back into my pocket. I turned to walk back towards my friends, only to be tackled to the ground by someone.

I yelped as I connected harshly with the ground, and the person on top of me cheered. "Told you she wasn't paying enough attention, Tim!"

Abby. Seriously?

Why is it always me?

I sighed and looked up at the person straddling my waist. Abby looked the same as she did when she had to dress up somewhere. Even if it was still was odd to see her without a lab coat.

She smiled broadly at me, "You look pretty, Kiley!"

Then hands were suddenly lifting her off of me, and Eric was lifting me to my feet as Lucas pulled Abby a few feet away.

I sighed and let my head drop to my hand as the others filed around us. Trish and Ziva exchanged steely glances, Michelle was staring at Abby with unveiled interest, like she wanted to take a picture, Lucas was staring at Tony with his arms crossed and a small smirk gracing his features, Eric was giving McGee a stare down, and I looked up at Gibbs helplessly. Jason, meanwhile, was just staring at everyone with a happy go lucky expression on his face.

Gibbs smirked at me, well aware that the two very different groups were going at it, and handed me a coffee while he sipped his. With a small smirk, I took it and cheered him as our companions continued to give each other death glares.

Minus Jason. Who was now walking over to the ducks sitting in the lake.

Trish stepped closer to Ziva, who raised her chin with a sly grin, bordering on defiant. Trish returned it with a wolfish edge.

Eric towered over McGee, but McGee just looked up at him with a bored expression.

Meanwhile, the ducks were getting very close to Jason. Who looked gleeful at the proximity.

I sipped my coffee and exchanged a bemused look with Gibbs.

Lucas was sizing Tony up now, and both were a foot from each other, trading matching sarcastic grins. Making them look eerily like twin Chesire cats.

Michelle and Abby were grinning maniacally at each other, and looked ready to take over the world together.

Jason was now getting chased by the ducks.

Gibbs and I exchanged another glance, and began to walk away.

Jason was now screaming, because apparently, the ducks didn't like him, and they were biting him.

Everything continued on as Gibbs and I stepped into the tree line on the paved trail.

NCIS

I guided us towards a branch off in the path, towards one of my favorite places in the park. Gibbs followed me without question, and I felt myself start to relax at his constant, calm presence. If Gibbs was next to me, nothing bad would happen to me.

We finally walked to my favorite place. My friends had no clue about this place. It was the one place I could think, yet be hidden completely from the world.

It was on one side of the lake, and it was an oak tree that branched out over the lake. The gnarled roots provided a comfortable seat on the ground, or I could climb up the branches and hang over the lake. It was peaceful, and it always was a nice place to go. If it rained, the tree protected me from the elements. If it was windy, the lake made a dazzling display. I had already drawn the tree numerous times, but I couldn't seem to draw it enough.

I sat down on the gnarled roots and looked up at Gibbs with a silent question. He sat down next to me and leaned his back against the tree trunk, mirroring my pose.

We stared over the lake, and a sense of calm settled over me.

"Happy birthday Kiles." Gibbs said softly, breaking the silence.

I looked over to him with a smile, and he handed me a package wrapping in thick brown paper. I smirked again, shaking my head, and accepted the gift.

I put it in my lap and unwrapped it. I couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped me.

There was numerous items in the package. One was a small, leather bound journal with a leather band around it, keeping it sealed shut. I opened it and was greeted with drawing paper. Next was charcoal pencils, wrapped in twine to keep them together, and held in a small blue pouch that attached to the journal.

The last one though…..

It was a wooden carving. Of a wolf. The wolf was sitting down, staring at me with a curious tilt to its head. His tail was wrapped around his feet, and his ears were alert, pointed at me.

It was as long as my hand, and about as wide as my wrist.

I picked it up gently, reverently, and turned a blinding smile towards Gibbs. He just smiled a smile that I couldn't decide was proud, or just happy. Maybe both?

"You can paint it if you want." He said after a moment.

I grinned at him again and began inspecting the wolf. Gibbs had even carved fur onto the wolf's frame, and instead of him sitting on a piece of wood, Gibbs had carved his paws, his stomach, and the bottom of his tail.

The amount of devotion he put into the small figure made warmth flood through me, and left me smiling at the wolf. I knew exactly how I would paint it too.

"Thank you, Gibbs. I love it." I said as sincerely as I could.

A warm hand settled on my neck, right where the shoulder connected to it, and I turned to see Gibbs giving me one of his rare, completely open and free, warm, happy smiles. I smiled back at him, allowing him to see how much it meant to me.

"Good." Was his reply, and with that, we turned back to the lake. But the warm hand didn't leave me, just migrated to the other shoulder and pulling me towards Gibbs. I settled against his side and watched as the breeze tugged out reluctant waves out on the lake.

NCIS

Several minutes later, the peace was interrupted by twin phones ringing.

Gibbs and I exchanged a look, before pulling out our phone.

"Gibbs."

"Kiley here. Hello Trish, something the matter?" I was talking in a sing song voice.

Despite Trish chattering in my ear that I shouldn't have run off like that, and Jason screaming in the background, I could hear Tony yell at Gibbs,

"We lost Kiley!"

"You shouldn't have run off!" Trish finished.

I shared a smirk with Gibbs, then replied, "I'm with Gibbs."

"She's with me, Tony."

Tony seemed to sigh in relief through the phone, and Trish huffed. "Of course, you two just had to run off gallivanting through the wilderness."

Jason screamed again. Apparently those ducks weren't happy with him still. I could hear Lucas laughing at him.

"We'll meet you at the willow tree. Make sure you bring the team with you." I instructed.

Trish sighed, "Fine. We'll meet you at the willow tree, with the team….. You're lucky it's your birthday."

I snorted, "Lucky me. See ya."

I hung up the phone and looked at Gibbs, "Yours too huh? They certainly pay attention."

Gibbs huffed in what could be called a laugh, and his lips twitched upwards.

"I told them that we'd meet them at 'our' willow tree." I continued as I stood up. I took another drink of coffee and offered Gibbs my hand.

He smirked at me, but accepted it and allowed me to pull him to his feet.

Once both of us were up, I led us away from the oak tree.

NCIS

"I'd appreciate it if you would quit vanishing." Trish said crossly from her place on one of the willow branches.

The others were sitting in the grass, or leaning against the tree staring at the lake.

I grinned cheekily, "You'd get bored then."

Trish shook her head, "We're adults. Hide and Seek is for kids."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "I'm 17. I am a kid! Legally, I'm not an adult. Besides, it's mandatory to grow old, it's optional to grow up."

Trish put her head in her hand and sighed in exasperation while the rest of them grinned at me.

"So, are we going to stay here forever?" Michelle asked, looking between Trish and me.

"Nope! We're going to go everywhere and anywhere today!" She announced as she dropped from the tree. She hit the ground near me and bounced upwards, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Come on then!"


	10. Chapter 10

I felt pleasantly warm. Today had been a good day, ignoring the NCIS team's weird behavior (None of them left me the entire day without at least one team member present at all times). I had more presents.

One was another knife from Ziva, couldn't have too may I suppose. This one was silver, instead of black, and went onto my other leg, carefully tucked into my boot.

McGee got me Assassins Creed Black Flag, which I was very happy about.

Tony had gotten me another sketch book, and a lot of colored pencils. Which I was also very happy about.

Abby had given me a pen. Two of them actually. But the kicker of these particular pens, despite the fact that the black ink glowed in the dark, was that if I twisted a certain spot on the pen, the back would pop off and a thin, needle like dagger was revealed underneath the pen's outer casing. I was going to be a little more careful about the pens in Abby's lab from now on.

But both pens were also tucked into my boots now.

Ducky and Jimmy had gotten me a leather messenger bag and a puzzle box, which had been passed on through Abby. The puzzle box would be difficult to open, even at a glance. The messenger bag was nice, black leather. My friends seemed to be trying to turn me goth. I didn't mind though, black did have a certain appeal. Just not all the time. Besides, yellow had never been my favorite color. Orange either.

I had put my other gifts into the bag, expect the wolf. He rested in the secret pocket of my new jacket.

Now we were at the Chinese restaurant, eating as much as we could. Trish apparently knew the owner, and he had given her a good deal. She wouldn't tell me what it was though, just to order whatever I wanted, and she'd get the tab. For everyone. Which surprised me.

I was happy though. And enjoying the cream filled, fattening, dumplings. The fortune cookies were good too.

I reached for mine, and cracked it open, munching on part of the cookie while I read the text.

 _'_ _Beware the threatening storm'_

That's odd. I've never had a fortune cookie tell me something bad before. And what storm? It was a cookie. There was nothing about it that could predict the future. Nothing.

I put it away and ate the rest of the cookie. Promptly ignoring the unease quickly blooming in my gut. What had Gibbs said? There is no such thing as a coincidence. But it had to be this once. The NCIS team showing up, wary of something, more protective than normal, than I get a cookie that said to beware the danger looming just out of reach. Definitely a coincidence.

What had Spencer said were the keys to a successful magic trick? One: Distraction. Well, I was kind of distracted. My birthday and all.

Two: Misdirection. Get your victim to pay attention to something else, get their focus on that, then preform your trick. Maybe I was looking in the wrong spot for my answers?

The biggest one: Illusion. Cast the illusion of doubt, of wonder, of something. It makes your trick seem more real. Bigger than your victim could imagine. Perhaps I was in an illusion of safety. Ziva said that I wasn't safe anywhere, even in my house. Perhaps I needed to look past the illusion, see what isn't there.

I looked around, maybe time to try. No one was paying attention to me right now, not even Ziva, who was instead challenging Trish in a game of truth or dare. The others were slowly getting roped into it, so I could focus on my surroundings and not have them get suspicious.

I looked around the Chinese restaurant. There were still a few people in here despite the late hour. A couple in a booth near the windows. A waiter wiping down tables and putting chairs up. Another one directing a broom around the restaurant.

There was a man, sitting in the corner booth, and partly cloaked in darkness. He wasn't eating anything, just taking occasional sips of the water in front of him.

I narrowed my eyes at him. How odd. I had seen him earlier, almost yelling at the waiter that he did not want anything to eat. I had gotten an instant creep feeling from him, and I noticed that he was facing our table.

Kiley. Stop it. Don't pin something on a probably innocent man just because you're jumping at shadows. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?

You're fine.

Yet, some part of me whispered that I wasn't fine. It was an illusion. I shouldn't relax. I should leave. Get everyone away. Make them leave. Now. We were done with dinner. We were just sitting around talking now. There isn't any harm in getting them away. Making sure they got home safe.

With sudden nervousness, I looked back at the man in a casual glance. He was looking at me now. There was a glint in his eye that almost made me pause. It was curiosity, like I was a machine he was taking apart, and jealousy. It was directed at me.

Then his gaze flicked to Tony, and it became hatred. Pure, angry, hatred.

I needed to get them out, now. Even if it was nothing, though I doubted it was, they needed to get away from me. And I needed to find out what the hell was going on.

With determination, I feigned a huge yawn. As predicted, my friends were so intent on keeping an eye on me, that they noticed.

Ziva smiled at me tenderly and rubbed my back, "Are you tiring, Kiley?"

I nodded, and gave her a sleepy smile that might have been a little exaggerated. I was the opposite of tired. But I needed them to leave, and to not get more antsy than they already were. Especially if it was nothing.

The others looked at me with looks of tenderness and love. Though I knew it was there, I couldn't help but feel pleasantly surprised by it. Even Gibbs was giving me that look.

Trish leaned onto the table, "Well, you are still a kid. So it makes sense you'd need more sleep than the rest of us. And it is getting kind of late." She checked her phone. "Wow, 1:15 already. I'm used to staying up this late, but you do need more sleep than me."

She grinned at me, and I shot her a dirty look and gave another huge yawn. "It's not my fault you guys tire me out so quickly." I mumbled, slurring my words slightly for added affect.

Eric laughed, "Well, let's go before we have to carry you home."

I shot him another dirty look that might have looked as terrifying as a kitten's. I was the one acting, and I thought it was overkill. But they bought it. Really well actually.

Tony stood up and stretched, then he reached down and pulled on my arm gently, prompting me to stand.

I knew that when I got tired, my clumsiness got more pronounced, and I blinked more because my vision wobbled. I had more or less perfect eyesight, but I was like Spencer. Sometimes, especially when I was tired, I needed glasses.

I yawned again and staggered out from behind the chair. Apparently, because I was forcing myself to be clumsy, my feet decided to catch on the chair, and I would have fallen had Tony not had a steady grip on my arm.

It earned me a collective laugh.

"Whoa there kiddo. Careful." Tony laughed and tugged me closer to him.

I blinked at him blearily, "Kiddo? Since when?"

He looked down at me with a grin, "Since you became 17."

I scowled at him half-heartedly as we tromped out of the restaurant, food already paid for. "The thing about birthday's, Tony, is that they make you older. Not younger."

He snickered, and I felt Ziva take my other arm to steady me further. They knew that I got clumsier the more tired I was too.

McGee was behind me now with Gibbs beside him. The rest of my friends filtered around me.

When we reached a four way, Trish, Lucas, Jason, Michelle, and Eric said goodbye. Their houses were close together, mine was farther away.

I waved to them clumsily, almost smacking Abby, and gave them all wide, if tired (Acting. Gotta love it. Mom always said I was a good manipulator), smiles and said, "Thanks for the awesome birthday guys. I loved it."

They returned the smiles, and various comments of 'You're welcome' and 'Get some rest' chimed around me.

They walked away and I was left with the team.

I threw my arms around Tony's and McGee's shoulders and decided to up the ante a bit, "You know. You guys are a bit like brothers to me." I informed them seriously.

They shared a grin, and Tony piped up, "You know, you act drunk when you're tired, Kiles."

Abby giggled at that, "Just wait until she's old enough. Then we can see if that's true."

I shot a grin towards her, "Sorry, Trish already has dibs to introduce me to the joys of a hangover first."

Abby gave me a mock hurt expression, "Not me? I'm hurt, Kiley."

Since I was supposed to be tired, and only working at half my usual brain capacity, I frowned, feigning distress. "I'm sorry, Abby. I'm sure if you ask Trish she might reconsider."

Abby's mouth fell open slightly, and so did McGee's. "You really are tired, aren't you?" Tony asked quietly.

I nodded, staggering a bit (To which Tony caught my arm), and muttered, "Think I need some sleep. Or a serious kickstarter."

Gibbs suddenly appeared next to me, "Let's go with the first one, Kiles. You don't need any caffeine right now."

I grinned at him, "I'm glad you guys are here."

They all smiled back at me.

"Us too, Kiles." McGee said honestly.

I tried to focus on their smiles, and not the feeling that someone was watching me.

But it was getting more difficult. The shadows seemed more threatening than usual.

I ignored it though, and just focused on the comfort of being close to Gibbs. The closest thing to a father I had ever had.

He normally offered safety, comfort. But I didn't feel that tonight. I just felt more jittery. What if they got hurt because of me? That's why they were here, someone was targeting me. Their behavior screamed it. And Tony… What did he do? The man seemed to hate Tony more than me.

I'm overreacting. Everything's fine. Like always.

We had reached my apartment building, and were walking into the elevator.

I vaguely realized that we had stopped in front of my apartment. I dug into my pocket for the key, and, once retrieved, it was stuffed into the lock. I was guided into the apartment by Gibbs, who made sure I would be fine, before wishing me a happy birthday once more.

I smiled at all of them, and waved. "See you guys tomorrow."

Feeling suddenly scared. What if something happened to them? But what if something happened to them if they stayed? Too many variables. Too many things could go wrong. I needed to step back, look at it objectively. Wouldn't that what Spencer had said to do if I had a problem? Take a breath, and look at it at a new angle.

I closed the door, and made sure it was securely locked.

I staggered into the apartment. I was way too wired to sleep. I took off my scarf and draped it over the back of the couch. The jacket was next, and I looked at the wolf in my hand.

I wouldn't be able to sleep, might as well do some painting. I put the wolf into the holster on my belt, more out of curiosity than actual need, and began to walk towards my bedroom. But I froze as something creaked. Something that definitely wasn't the floor underneath me.

I reached towards my boot, but before I could get to it, something crashed into the back of my head. And the world, faded into oblivion.


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up with a massive headache, and one thought. Why is it **_always_** me? I'm the one who just has to go and get kidnapped. Over and over again. But this was my career path. I wanted to be an NCIS agent, so this probably wouldn't stop. But I needed to get a dog or something. Or I needed to be more aware of my surroundings. Twice in 2 months. That was bad for my pride. I was oddly okay with it though.

Despite the threat of imminent death.

Couldn't I at _least_ finish college? I mean, I just had one more month to go. Then I was done with my education. I probably couldn't become an NCIS agent until I was 21, but I could still intern. And if I managed to land a spot in Gibbs' team, than it wouldn't matter anyway. After that, then I could get kidnapped and risk immanent death. For heaven's sake! I _just_ turned 17.

I should probably be disturbed by my macabre sense of humor. But then again, laughing and joking about it beat the alternative. Crying and screaming. Definitely better to joke about it.

I didn't open my eyes, and continued to feign sleep. For now, it seemed that I was safe if I was still void to the world.

My arms were tied behind me, and chilly air wrapped around my bare arms. I was propped up against a wall. I flexed my hands experimentally. The ropes were tied like a sailors. In other words, no chance of getting them loose.

I was, however, still wearing my boots, and my belt was still there. I probed the back of it as slowly as I could, so I didn't make noise, and was pleased to find the knife still there. I would hate to get blood on it so soon, but I might not be able to help it.

I listened to the noise around me, and heard rustling. And clicks. It was almost like someone was building something. Something metallic if the ringing was anything to go by.

Speaking of ringing, did I still have my phone? I flexed my leg. Nope.

Unfortunately, that seemed to gain my captors attention, because the tinkering stopped.

I heard a rustle, then boot steps neared me.

"Oh. Are you waking up?" A soft voice reached my ears. It was male, and sweet. It had a musical quality to it, and, despite knowing that he had knocked me out and kidnapped me, I liked it.

I knew that I was busted, so I went through the motions of waking up with a headache (Which wasn't that hard, since the headache had not gone away. But I had been dealing with migraines most of my life, I knew how to handle a headache).

I winced, moved my head side to side slowly, lethargically, and acting like I realized what was going on. I gasped and made my eyes fly open. Honestly, sometimes my acting impressed me. Then again, that might have been my ego talking.

I winced again as harsh light invaded my sight, and suddenly a hand was in front of my eyes. I flinched, but the hand didn't leave.

Then the voice was back.

"Easy there. Sorry, I didn't expect you to wake up so soon. Normally, people stay out for at least 9 hours if I hit them that hard. If I had known you were stronger than that, I would have turned down the lights a bit. If you close your eyes for me, I'll turn them down now. Or, you could just open them slower. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

I closed my eyes, figuring that it might be better if I followed along for now.

His hand moved slightly, "Option A then? Alright. Wait just a moment."

The boots faded away, then a click rang through the air and the light faded slightly. The boots came back, and someone crouched in front of me. "Alright. You can open your eyes now."

I still opened them slower than before, not wanting to repeat what had happened earlier. I blinked as my eyes adjusted, and looked around.

I was in a concrete room with no windows. It was big though, at least as big as the apartment.

There was a large work table pushed to one corner with various things on it. Including the source for the light.

In another corner, two mattresses were pushed against the wall.

Other than that, the room was mostly bare except for the duffle bags lying around.

I focused back on my captor. He had shaggy black hair that fell into his dark green eyes slightly, tan skin dotted with freckles, a lean build, and chiseled features. He wore a black muscle shirt, black fingerless gloves, black cargo pants, and black combat boots.

He had oil and grease on his arms, hands, and even on his cheek.

But he smiled at me. His smile was warm, but slightly sad. And angry at the same time. I realized he was the same man from the restaurant. I hadn't realized how young he was though. He looked barely older than me. If I had to guess, I'd say 19. Maybe 21.

"Hi. Is this light okay?" He asked.

With confusion, was this an act? I nodded. "Yeah." My voice was croaky. I realized that I was thirsty, but didn't focus on it.

I cleared my throat to try again, but his hand covered my mouth. "Shh. I'll get you some water. Don't try to talk. You have a pretty voice, no need to ruin it."

He got up and walked to one of the duffle bags. "Are you hungry? Just nod if you are. And don't worry, all I have are wrapped granola bars."

He looked at me, and again confused, I nodded. My stomach was grumbling, so no need to lie about it.

He removed several bottles of water, still sealed, and several breakfast bars. Also still sealed.

He walked over to me and sat down crossed legged in front of me. He opened one of the water bottles and held it up to my lips gently.

"Drink slowly. You _have_ been out for 7 hours." He instructed gently. The way he talked to me reminded me strangely of how my brother would talk if he was helping me with my homework.

I drank slowly, as instructed, and soon finished off half the bottle. He pulled it away, closed it, and opened one of the breakfast bars. He broke off a piece, and held it up to my lips.

Seeing no point of fighting it, I opened my mouth again.

We carried on like this until the bar was gone, and the rest of the water bottle.

When I was done, he started eating his bar.

Done containing my curiosity, I asked, "Why are you being so…. Nice. Normally, captors aren't so nice."

He smirked at me, "That's the first thing you ask? Not why I brought you here? Who I am? And anyway, how would you know what normally happens?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I guess you didn't see my wrists then. Well, if you didn't, then you can definitely see my face. And my ear. Or my stomach if you looked. Last time I was kidnapped, I got tortured. So yeah, I know that normally, people don't let their victims stay hydrated."

His mouth fell open, and his expression got sad. "I'm sorry for that. I guess I didn't do as thorough research as I thought."

I tilted my head, "Research? Why do you want me anyway? I've never seen you before. And I have been trying not to piss people off, no matter what my friends say."

He laughed lightly at that. His laugh was rich, and as sweet as his voice.

"Well, I actually kidnapped you for revenge." He said conversationally.

My heart fell. I was right. Something happened. Something Tony might have done.

"Was it Tony?" I asked hesitantly.

His expression hardened instantly and snarled, "Yes. That pathetic man is to blame. You wouldn't understand." This was so different from a minute ago.

I tried to chose my next words carefully, but I doubt it would do me any good. "What did he do?" I asked softly. Trying to calm him down.

That worked. In reverse.

He stood suddenly, and began pacing, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"What did he do? Well, he only killed my baby brother. No big deal right?" He growled at me.

My mouth fell open. "Tony wouldn't…"

I didn't get to finish. Suddenly he was in front of me, lifting me up by my shoulders. He slammed me into the wall, "Tony did. He shot my brother. He died before he got to the hospital. Because Tony couldn't keep his freaking finger off the trigger! You don't understand anything!"

I scowled at him, "Tony wouldn't have shot him for fun! What did your brother do?!" I really needed to think before I spoke. I was also expecting to have a panic attack any minute now. I definitely wasn't helping myself here.

He slammed me into the wall again. "Sure, my brother and I weren't the best people. But I was trying to help him! He got into a bad crowd. I was trying to stop him before he hurt himself. He made bombs, planted them where his bosses told him to. He learned how because of me! I had stopped, gone away from that world. And I knew he had to do the same. I knew I had to stop him. He knew that he was doing something wrong, but he was scared! He was only 16! He was just a kid! And he was scared that his bosses would kill me if he didn't do as they said! If he didn't kill for them, I'd die! I talked to him, told him that I'd get him out of it. Like the big brother I was. He was listening! But the night that I almost had gotten him to listen to me, Tony shot him! He shot him right in front of me! He was going to stop. I could see it in his eyes! He was going to come with me! We were going to be a family again! He was just 16…. He was only 16…. His bosses couldn't let him tell NCIS about them, so they started to bomb remotely. Made it seem like my brother did it. And Tony shot him. He was just 16. He was just a kid! He was my kid brother. I never got to teach him all the stuff a big brother should have! Like how to talk to girls, or build a car. Instead, I taught him how to make a bomb. Tony took the second chance away from me.

"So I promised Tony that night, he had taken away my brother, I'd take away his younger sibling. As luck would have it, that was you. The entire team cares for you. What better revenge than to take away their baby sister, like they took away my baby brother!?"

He was getting louder, but he was also breaking. I could see it in him.

His shoulders shook, and his eyes got red. "He was just a kid. He was only a kid. He would have been 17. A few days ago, he would have turned 17. My baby brother. Would stay a kid forever. He was just a kid…"

His hands tightened painfully on my shoulders, before releasing me suddenly. I crumpled to the ground, legs out in front of me, and tried to steady my breathing. I would not have a panic attack here. I needed to stay awake, and aware. I counted to 10, in Italian (Some part of me felt comforted at the thought of Eric), and in that time the boy began pacing again.

When I was more or less in control, I spoke, "Tony hates killing. He hates causing pain. If he shot, it's because he didn't see another way. And if he shot, it was not to kill. Tony never shoots to kill."

The boy snarled at me, "How would you know?!"

I scowled up at him, "Because I know him. You don't. And you never wanted to see that he wouldn't kill him if there wasn't another way, all you want to see is an emotionless villain you can cast your misguided anger at. If you want someone to get revenge on, target your brother's idiot bosses. Not Tony. Getting Tony won't make it stop. Can't you see that?! They're just going to get someone else's baby brother or baby sister. Someone else who has people who would miss them. Someone that will cry and mourn. Someone who can't do a damn thing because they have no clue how. Do you want that?! You're playing right into their hands! You're planning on killing someone who will be missed, who has people that love her, who has a mother whose mental stability will get worse if she dies, who has an older brother who wallow in guilt for letting it happen. You are now the murderer. You are now the emotionless killer who pulled the trigger. You are now the very person that you want to get back at. And you're doing it all for your brother's bosses!"

Step one in persuasive speaking, appeal to their emotional mentality. Make them think about what you're trying to say by playing on their own insecurities.

Plus, the more I talked, the calmer I got. I was in my area of expertise, my confidence was starting to rise. Even if it didn't work. I was still calming.

He had stopped pacing, and was staring at me.

"I'm doing this for my baby brother!" He yelled, but he sounded unsure now.

I rolled my eyes, "Really? Do you really believe that? Would your brother want this? If he was just doing what they told him to, to protect you, then why would he want you to continue doing what he had done? You might not realize it in your anger and grief, but you are now the masked murderer working for your brother's bosses. If you kill me, you are doing the very thing you wanted your brother to stop doing. So bravo, hypocrite. I'll make it easy for you, there's a knife in my boot. Throw it at me. In this position, I can't fight back. I can't stop it. You'd get what you wanted, and become the murderer that you wanted your brother to stop being. You wouldn't even have to finish the bomb you're making. I do know bomb mechanics. It would be clean. Easy. And you'd actually have a body to present to Tony."

Maybe I was tempting fate. Maybe I was pushing the wrong buttons. But I think it was working. His anger was vanishing, so was his hatred. Instead, helplessness and guilt was replacing it.

He fell to his knees in front of me, "I just…. I just want my brother back. Another chance to do the right thing for him. Another chance to be the older brother. The hero. I didn't realize…. I'm sorry….. I just wanted my brother back…."

I sighed and leaned forward, kicking him lightly so he'd look at me.

Green eyes met brown, and I spoke in a softer tone than before, "Listen to me. I know you want your brother back the way he was before, but that can't happen. However, you still have the chance to do the right thing. To be an older brother again. To be the hero. You may not have been able to save your brother, but you have a chance to save another. If you tell the NCIS team who employed your brother, who forced him to kill for them, then they can get them. They can make them go to jail, or worse, for their crimes. They've done it before, they can do it again. But they can't, because they have no clue where to start. Unless you tell them.

"And besides," I smiled at him gently, "you have a part of your brother with you. In your heart. Your love for him, and your memories of him, keep him with you. Just do me a favor, yeah? Don't focus on the bad memories. Focus on the good ones. It does your heart better."

He smiled back at me, but his eyes were quickly filling with tears.

"My brother would have liked you." He murmured.

I smiled back at him, "I might have liked him too. He threw everything away to protect his older brother. I've been doing that a lot lately."

Before I was aware of what was happened, the boy's arms were around me, and he was shaking.

Done with the knife's path of cutting the ropes (Hey, I can be sneaky) I raised my arms to wrap around him too. I realized that he had started to sob, so I started rubbing circles in his back and sang to him softly. Just like I would do when Spencer had a particularly difficult case. Though I usually sang over the phone until recently. It was an old lullaby that I heard sometime when I was a kid. I had no clue who introduced it to me. Probably the same person who taught me Spanish, because I learned the Spanish variation first, then translated.

I had just stopped a murder attempt on my life, just by talking. Maybe Hotch was right. I was a really good manipulator. I didn't even need to move much, I just talked. If the thing with NCIS didn't work out, I could be a good counselor. Then again, that might not be the best place for me considering manipulation was frowned upon in schools.

And the fact that all kids hated me.

Yeah, better stick with talking down dangerous potential murderers.

Probably better for everyone.

"But hey! Since you didn't actually do anything but threaten me, you won't go to jail!" I said cheerfully.

He half laughed, half sobbed, and replied shakily, "I kidnapped you. I'm pretty sure that's a few years in prison. Besides, I was a killer before my brother died."

"Nah. I'll say you and I were just talking. And, for the sake of the intriguing conversation, I turned my phone off. And that was the past, focus on the future." I informed him with the same cheerful voice.

His arms tightened around me, "I'm assuming that the reason you can hug me is because of those knives you spoke of?"

I nodded against his shoulder, "Yep. Friend of mine gave them to me. They're extremely useful. This is the second time I've had to cut myself out of ropes. Though, thankfully, I didn't cut my own wrist this time!"

The boy pulled back, but didn't let go of me. "What happened to you last time you were kidnapped? Most people would have had a panic attack by now if they had experienced this before."

I scoffed, "I've had a few months to deal with it."

His mouth fell open, "I'm really sorry."

I waved him off, "It's fine. Like I said, I dealt with it. Granted, the little yelling and dropping thing didn't help my panic problem. But I got it under control. Now, could you actually tell me your name? Maybe we could start over. I'll go first."

I cleared my throat, smiled at him, and continued, "My name is Kiley Reid. I'm 17 years old, and will graduate college with another PhD in a month. I want to be an NCIS agent someday, and help people. Pleasure to meet you."

He laughed and took my outstretched hand, "Nicholas Stark. I'm 20 years old and have an IQ of 175. Pleasure is all mine."

I grinned at him and clapped my hands together, "Now that we are now friends, I formally forgive you for knocking me out and threatening to kill me. That being said, please tell me you didn't get that far with your bomb making plans."

He laughed again, throwing his head back and allowing pleasure to light up his features. "Forget Thomas liking you, I like you." Thomas must have been his brother. Some sadness crossed his features at that, and a bit of anger.

I refused to let him wallow in it, or we could go back to the original problem. People grieving were unpredictable, and without someone to pull them out of it, they could wind up doing something they would regret.

Nicholas stood up, "Well, songbird, if you're so smart, maybe you could tell me."

He held out his hand to me, which I took without hesitation. I raised an eyebrow at him, "Songbird? Seriously?"

He pulled me to my feet, "Yep. You do have a beautiful voice. Deal with it."

I scowled, then grinned at him as we began to walk to his work table, "Alright, Nicky."

He glowered at me, but I grinned innocently back at him.

I always seem to attract the crazies.

Again, why is it always me?

 **Sapphire here! Now, I understand that little Nicky might be confusing. That being said, he's supposed to be confusing. You guys aren't supposed to know more about him until later. However, Thomas' bosses are going to play a big part later on. And Kiley is going to have to clean up the mess.**

 **So, I'm curious. Do you guys think that Nick is just acting, trying to gain Kiley's trust to make the kill worse in the end? Or do you think he is genuinely a nice guy? He was bad in the past. Really bad. A mercenary for hire actually. And he was a bad bad bomber dude that no one could trace back to. Do you think he has it in him to love someone? Could he be playing the emotions more with Thomas? Tell me what you think, even if you might be wrong, I am very curious to see what you think.**

 **ST**


	12. Chapter 12

I collapsed onto my bed, still dressed in yesterday's clothes. Turns out, Nicholas hadn't gotten very far with the bomb. Or at least, the bomb he wanted to make. He still had your standardized bomb that could level a building.

I had told him not to use it under any circumstances. He had agreed readily, still feeling guilty about the whole kidnapping thing. After that, we had talked. We talked about our brothers, our families (Apparently Thomas had been the last living relative he had left. Everyone else was dead), and what our plans for the future was.

His was to quit being an assassin for hire. But, because of the things he'd done in the past, he wouldn't escape jail time. So, he would just go around the world and try to help people. And he'd start with taking down the assassin agency, nicknamed Hell's Gates (Flare for dramatic apparently), and I promised to help him in any way that I could. Even if it started with him having a safe place to crash if need be.

He now had my number, and I, his. He had dropped me off at the apartment, (He took me around to the fire escape. All for the sake of being inconspicuous) with a warning. Don't trust anyone I don't know. And even then, be careful trusting. Now that he knew who I was, Hell's Gates would probably know too, and I might be in more danger. However, their flare wasn't for torturing you by killing those you cared about. Quite the opposite actually. They preferred to torture you directly, and physically.

So, I would just have to be careful.

Easier said than done.

I had my phone back, and had several missed calls from various people. The entire NCIS team, and even Eric and Trish.

I already had a cover plan. I fell asleep, turned my phone off because I was so tired, and didn't wake up until 10. I had thirty minutes until 10.

I had washed off all the makeup from yesterday, and my hair was a mess, so I did look like I had been asleep. Especially from the ruffles in all my clothes.

I know that I should be tired, being knocked out doesn't really qualify for rest.

I had just closed my eyes when knocking erupted from the door. I groaned and stood up, trudging to the door.

The knocking got louder, and calls were heard, "Kiley! Kiley, answer the door or I will kick it down!" It was Trish. Did something happen?

I forced myself to act like I had just woken up, and opened the door with a yawn. I leaned against it and looked blearily at all the people on the other side.

All of the NCIS team was there, and all of my friends were there. They froze when they saw me, shock obvious on their faces, before it faded to relief.

I yawned again, "What guys? It's like," I made a show of looking over my shoulder at the clock, "9:34. Waaaaay too early to be out an about." I glared at them grumpily, before stepping aside, "Well, since all of you are here in mass panic, threatening to break my door, you might as well come in and tell me why you woke me up. And why you are all staring at me like I should be dead."

I narrowed my eyes at them, "I swear, I have tried very hard not to piss anyone off lately."

I let them step past me, then shuffled to the kitchen. Ziva smirked at me, "Didn't you change clothes last night?"

I looked down and huffed, "Too tired. And I'm still tired. So, before we have discussions about life and death, I'm making coffee first."

Gibbs put his hand on my arm, "Why don't you change clothes. We can go to a coffee shop and talk."

I looked up at him, he had been worried too. I'm going to assume that since the college friends are here, they had been told about the would be murderer. Otherwise, they'd still be sleeping. Or at least, most of them would be.

"Fine. Give me a minute." I told him, then shuffled back to into the bedroom.

I changed quickly into black ripped jeans, threw the same boots on, throwing the pen knives in with the other knives, and put on a sleeveless, figure hugging, blue shirt. I looked down at my hands, realizing that the black fingerless gloves Nicholas had lent me were still on my hands. He had given them to me so I could hold one of the bombs hotter parts that would hurt my palm, but not my fingers if I was careful.

I kind of liked them though, so they stayed.

I brushed my teeth, combed my hair and put it into a braid, then washed my face and applied some eyeliner.

Once I was done, I walked back out of my room and into the living room. I grabbed the discarded leather jacket and threw it on.

I looked expectantly at my companions, and we walked out of the apartment.

I ignored the bleak mood my companions had, and smiled to everyone we passed on the street. Waved too. I was my normal, bouncy self. And I was a bit restless. When we had to stop at crosswalks, I jumped around. It was enough to make my companions smile, but otherwise, they didn't do much.

Eric finally had enough of my behavior, and his hand soon found its way to the back of my neck. He pulled me over to him and put his arm over my shoulders, muttering, "Stay. You're making people stare."

I huffed, but followed him. My hands were tapping on my legs, and I felt like running. Overall, I felt okay. Despite the gentle throb on the back of my head. But it wasn't bad at all, and kept getting better.

And, bonus! I made a new friend. One who had originally tried to kill me. Little things, right? Oh, and the people he used to work for might also know who I am, and may or may not try to kill me because of the people I know. Wonderful! I should feel scared. Traumatized. Depressed. Angry.

But I was in a good mood. And even though I knew the talk that was coming soon, I couldn't be bothered.

Even with Eric's arm keeping me close to him and preventing me from jumping around like a mad man, I was still being a child. That is to say, avoiding stepping on any and all cracks on the sidewalk, and would dramatically step over them while mentally chanting 'Don't step on a crack or you'll fall and break your back!'

My companions just gave me bemused looks, and Trish kept muttering, "Infant."

But I just kept skipping. I was in a good mood, I was 17, I was still alive, and Tony wouldn't be consumed by guilt. Hopefully.

If he did let it, I would punch him. I _was_ getting to be a good aim, thanks to Jinhai.

So yeah, I was in a good mood. Sue me.

We finally reached the café, at which point I had been juggled from Eric, to Lucas, to Jason. The last one had been a mistake on everyone's part, because Jason was also very jittery this morning, and skipped with me. Soon, I had his frown turned into laughter, and I counted that as a win.

But, before we could switch again, we stopped at the café.

I waltzed inside, and picked a big table that would seat all of us. In the center of the room.

Ziva grimaced, but took a seat next to me. Tony took the one on the other side. Soon, all of us were seated, and we ordered. Mostly, they didn't order anything. But I ordered a chocolate latte and a muffin. I was like Spencer in that regard, I would never gain weight much, and I was always hungry. But normally, we wouldn't act on it. There was no point in doing so. Our metabolism was fast, and if we went a day or so without eating, we'd pass out. Something I learned the hard way after doing what Spencer had done numerous times, get caught up in something and forget to eat. It isn't pleasant to wake up afterwards a few hours later and find out that no one really cared to look for you.

At least Spencer had his team to make sure he ate. My father didn't really care that much.

But, I wouldn't wallow in self pity. That led to depression. And depression was not a road I was willing to take. And I'd be damned before I let those around me feel it too.

I waited for them to start talking, because Tony was clearly trying to find the words, and the others were watching him. My college friends seemed to take great satisfaction watching him mentally struggle, and, though I hadn't noticed before, they were even more distant to the NCIS team than they had been yesterday. Yesterday, it seemed that they could be friends. But today, that was shattered. It wasn't really something I liked seeing. Their approval of each other was important to me, and it physically hurt to see them like this.

But it hurt more to know why Tony was so….. not Tony. I wanted nothing more than to wrap him in a hug and convince him that it was alright, that he didn't have anything to be guilty of. From what I understood, he fired the shot, and the kid died on the way to the hospital. So he didn't have to be guilty.

But, no matter how much my instincts screamed at me to do _something_ , I stayed where I was and sipped my coffee, acting completely oblivious to the strife currently taking place next to me.

Finally, after several terse minutes of my college friends glaring at my team, Tony spoke.

"Kiles. I…. uh….. screwed up. Big time." He started.

Wanting to at least make him smile, I smirked slyly at him, "You and I make quite the pair then. But what, pray tell, did you do to one up me?"

His lips twitched, but the sadness swept through his features like fire, and he continued as though I hadn't said anything, "There was a case. Last month. Involving a navy marine who had been charred because of a bomb blast. We looked for who did it, and our search led us to a kid, a kid and his brother. A bombing duo, who had made the bombs responsible for everything. We met them on a dock, asked them to stand down, but the kid triggered the bomb, I fired at the remote in his hand, but he moved as I hit the trigger. Instead of hitting the remote and his hand, I hit his chest. His brother yelled, threw the bomb into the sea, and tried to save his younger brother. The EMT's arrived, took the kid and the brother, but the kid died before he reached the hospital.

"A few weeks ago, I got a letter…. that said the older brother would be paying a member of our team a visit. We stuck together as much as we could, no one was alone. But, a week ago, I got contacted again. This time he clarified, he wasn't going after an adult member of the team. He was going after the fifth member. The youngest member. You. He said that we…. I….. had taken his baby brother away, he'd take away the person I viewed as a baby sister. So, we came out as soon as possible. We haven't gotten anything to suggest that he was here, but we weren't willing to let it go. We have agents, from FBI and NCIS, looking. We haven't contacted your brother yet. FBI told us not to until we had more info. Plus, I'm kinda scared of your bi polar brother, Kiles."

The last part was a joke, half-hearted at best, but I was glad that he was at least making the effort.

They all watched me with varying expressions. Anger. Grief. Guilt. Sadness. Fear.

Trish, finally done with patience, snapped, "If they hadn't been complete morons, this wouldn't have happened to begin with!"

My college friends agreed with her instantly, and it looked like they were preparing for a fight.

Voices began filtering through from both parties.

"We were trying to protect her!"

"After getting into this mess to begin with!"

"This is wrong! You shouldn't have pulled the trigger at all!"

"He didn't have a choice!"

I sighed. A headache was already starting to say hello. So close to the knock out, it wouldn't be very good for me.

I slammed my hand against the table and snarled, "ENOUGH!"

Instantly, there was quiet. Not only at my table, but the entire café was now watching me warily.

I stood up and pointed at my college friends, who were beginning to open their mouths, "Can it! I don't want one word about this. Do you understand?! In their job, sometimes it isn't avoidable. You do not know the strain. It's a mix between protecting innocents, and trying not to kill anyone. Even when the bad guy is attempting to kill innocents. Tony did not pull the trigger to kill. He never does. And I doubt he ever will! You are in no place to judge him for something you don't understand!"

They looked properly chastised, and I turned to the NCIS team. "And all of you, calm down! They are just as worried as you, and you are not the only ones allowed to care and worry about me! They're confused, they're scared, and they want someone to blame. No one in this room is to blame. Do you understand me?! Tony!" Said agent jumped and looked up at me, "Stop feeling guilty! It isn't your fault. You didn't pull the trigger to hurt the kid, you pulled it to protect innocent people who didn't deserve to die. Yes, the kid didn't deserve to either, but you didn't shoot to kill. You didn't kill him, Tony. So knock it off! Yes, I understand that the guilt is still there. It might always be. But don't you dare let it consume you."

Tony grimaced and muttered quietly, "You don't understand, Kiley. I put everyone in danger because of my actions. I killed someone."

That did it. I hadn't originally wanted them to know. But _to hell_ with it!

"Oh really? Please tell me how I don't understand that weight, after I drove a knife through Peter's chest." Everyone had basically left the café anyway, and the employees were hiding in the back. There was no one but us here. "Please tell me, how I won't see his scared, confused, pain filled gaze as a knife was driven through his chest, that it won't stick with me for the rest of my life. I killed someone, Tony. With a knife." I bent quickly, pulled out a knife, and threw it in the air. It flipped once, twice, three times before landing in my palm. Hilt down.

"And yet, here I am. Spinning around knives like I was born with them in my hand. Here I am, smiling, joking, and not letting guilt consume me for what I did. If I hadn't, he might have kept killing. If I hadn't, I would have died. Because I did, I lived to stay with my friends, my _family,_ and because I did, no one will ever get hurt by him again. I admit, I wake up in a cold sweat most nights, remembering his terrified face, and knowing I was the one that put it there. I admit, I panic sometimes if someone else puts a freakin fork too next to my hand. And I admit, that won't go away for a long time. But you know what? I'm having fun. I'm alive. I'm here with my friends, who are currently trying to kill each other, and I'm here, because of my actions that couldn't be helped. I hadn't meant to kill him. I hadn't meant to put the knife in his chest. Just like you hadn't meant to kill that kid. You aimed for his hand. Not his chest. I hadn't meant to cause Arthur crushing agony because he would never see his cousin alive again. Just like you hadn't meant for the brother to never see his sibling again."

I shoved the knife back into the holster, threw a 20 on the table, hauled Tony to his feet, and stormed out of the café, dragging the annoying older brother behind me.


	13. Chapter 13

The others followed us, I could hear them, but I chose to ignore them. I tightened my grip on Tony's hand and pulled him behind me to the park.

We arrived in less than 10 minutes, Tony could keep up with my strides after all, and stopped, turned to my other friends, pointed a threatening finger at them, and hissed, "Stay here. I'll be back shortly. And please, if you could be ever so kind, do. Not. Kill. Each. Other!"

Then I turned back again, and proceeded to drag Tony to the oak tree near the lake.

I sat down with a 'humph' and looked up at Tony expectantly.

He gave me an odd look that was a mix between pride, sadness, guilt, and acceptance.

He sat down next to me, and we watched the waves crash against the bank with the strong morning breeze. I loved running through the park, then stopping here and watching the world wake up. It was calming. It was relaxing.

When I had panic attacks, I would always find my way here. Poor Spencer had dealt with more midnight escapes than any other person I had been with combined. After the first few times it happened, and I claimed that I wasn't tired and needed something to do (He understood that better than anyone ever would), he was fine with it as long as I didn't hurt myself and got enough sleep to moderately function throughout the day and not collapse.

When I woke up in a cold sweat, with Peter's shocked face in my memory, I came here. By the time that the sun rose, I was calm and ready to face the next adventure. I hoped it would do the same for Tony.

Tony sighed as he looked over the waves, then he tilted his head towards me, "Did you mean what you said?" He asked quietly.

I smirked at him, "Yes. You have no reason to feel this guilty. I know it isn't very sympathetic, and it isn't okay for the kid's family, but you didn't kill him. You injured him. He had every chance to live. But, sometimes, they can't fight anymore, so they give in. It's hard for the family and friends, but ultimately, when they're in that situation, it's up to them whether they want to fight, or give in." I tilted my head, "Kind of like depression I suppose. Sometimes it is difficult to fight, so other people have to help you. Just like nurses and doctors. But, overall, the choice is up to said person."

I looked at him pointedly, "This can relate to tons of things. Not just depression and injury."

Tony huffed a humorless laugh, "I knew you were book smart, but where did this come from?"

I straightened my shoulders and threw my head back arrogantly, "Please. I've always been like this. You just haven't seen it."

He gave me a small smile, a real smile, and said, "Thanks kiddo. But I wasn't talking about that. I've already gotten the guilt talk from everyone. Even Gibbs in his own weird way. Although, I like your approach better." He gazed off thoughtfully, "Ziva slammed my head into a doorframe."

I snickered and leaned back against the tree, "Yeah. I could see her doing that."

He shoved me good naturedly, "Some help you are. But no, I was talking about Peter."

I sighed, the smile fading from my face. "I know… I've been getting better. But I just…. I keep seeing his face."

Tony's arm appeared next to me, and he pulled me to his side. I curled up against him and he leaned his head against mine. Then he spoke, "I know kiddo. I know exactly what you mean. We had hoped that you wouldn't know that feeling until you were older…. More able to….."

He searched for the right word, so I supplied it, "Understand?"

He nodded, "Something like that. Are you sure this is still the job you want?"

I smirked, "I want to help people, Tony. This isn't going to stop me. I just have to work past it. I refuse to let guilt and fear rule my life."

I nudged him, and he sighed, "I know the feeling." He said dryly.

I snickered, and we were silent for a while.

Then Tony laughed, "You were right, Kiles. We really are a pair. Trying to one up each other like we're doing."

I snorted, "Yep. We are a bunch of siblings. One big, happy family."

Tony nodded. After another moment of comfortable silence, Tony spoke up again, "You know, if you got a job at NCIS, Gibbs would probably glare at the director until you landed on our team."

I smiled, "I know. And I plan on getting a job there. It would help if Gibbs lent me his eyebrow of death."

Tony laughed again. It was a real laugh, one I was used to hearing come from Tony. His normal laugh. Full of happiness. I felt more hope than I had before. This problem might take a bit of coaxing, but it could go away. And with the rest of the team helping, Tony would be fine in no time.

"This is a nice place." Tony commented thoughtfully.

I smiled gently, "Yeah. This oak tree has gotten me through more nightmares than I can count. It's relaxing here. Rejuvenating. You know?"

Tony nodded again, "I've got something similar back in D.C. I'll have to show you when you come back."

I gave him a bright smile, "I look forward to it. Also, were you keeping count on how many times 'I know' was said in this conversation?"

Tony smirked down at me, "8 variations."

I mock gasped, "I didn't know you could count that high!"

He cuffed me lightly on the head and I frowned dramatically at him and whined, "Has Gibbs been giving you lessons? That felt a lot like his."

Tony chuckled, and his arm tightened around me.

"You know that we're here for you, right?" I told him quietly.

Tony sighed, "I know, Kiles. But that is a two way street. If you need to talk, any of us would be happy to."

I smiled, "I know. Thanks, Tony. Also, when did you get so….."

"Handsome? Rich? Sarcastic?"

"Wise." I finished.

He was silent for a bit, then replied, "When the youngest member of the team got older than she should have so soon."

I snuggled closer to him, "So, you guys already deem me worthy of your team."

Tony's arm tightened, "No. We deem you worthy of our family. That's much better. All of us are messed up in one way or another. You fit with us better than anyone else would. Might as well too, Abby has already adopted you. The Duckmaster too. And Gibbs goes along with what those two say. So we go along with what Gibbs says. And the Director tries not to have a heart attack when we decide on something unanimously."

I smiled, "That sounds much better."

"I know, right?"

"That would be 13 variations, I think."

Tony laughed, and I joined in after he tickled me.

"The others are probably getting impatient."

I sighed, "I guess we'd better go back."

Tony nodded, and pulled away slightly. His hand stayed on my shoulder as he stood, then he helped me up.

We walked away from the tree that held more secrets than I could count. Tony's arm was slung over my shoulder, and he was smiling. He was still sad, still a bit guilty, but that would go away with time. Especially now that Nicholas wasn't going to kill me. He had promised he'd take care of the whole threatening thing, but I had no clue how he would.

Knowing him, it would be pretty interesting.

 **Hello! Sapphire here! So, this chapter had a lot of fluff. I was wondering if I was making Tony too fluffy, but he does have his fluffy moments in NCIS, so I just threw it out. He needed to have this conversation. Hopefully he didn't get too out of character.**

 **Also, I'm beginning to love that oak tree. I have a willow tree near my house that is similar, it just doesn't have the lake. Though I kind of wish it did. I think everyone needs a spot where they can just relax, and not have to worry about the world.**

 **Don't you?**

 **ST**

 **ST**


	14. Chapter 14

We walked back to where our friends loitered around the park. When they saw us, they quickly migrated back to us. I cast an appraising eye around me and saw that, though the tension was still thick, they seemed not to have killed each other. Small victories.

I still crossed my arms and frowned at them.

Trish held up her hands, "Chill. We made up."

Lucas made a face, "But, we did not kiss them."

Jason huffed at me, "And you are very scary when you get mad."

I laughed and smiled broadly at them, "Good. And I still want to give them a tour of the wonderful city we live in."

They all made hesitant faces, but I waved them off and began walking cheerfully out of the park. After a moment of silence, they all rushed after me.

NCIS

Later that day we were all walking past one of my favorite café's in the city when a blast shook the ground.

I fell over in shock. The sky was lit up in orange and red for a few seconds before it died away. My ears were ringing, and I felt like I had just run a marathon with the way that my breath was coming out in short bursts.

I sucked in deep breaths and sat up. Then someone was next to me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders and hauled me to my feet. Then we were moving. I was being pushed towards a nearby alley.

We got there and the person pushed me gently into a sitting position, sat next to me, and pulled me into his arms.

I fought to steady my breathing. To think about something other than the blind panic. To do something besides panic. I knew it was a panic attack. This had become all to frequent lately. But I fought against it.

I thought about my brother, and making cookies with him in the kitchen. Throwing flour at his head, making his hair turn white and his face captured in shock for a few moments, before returning fire. The kitchen being a mess, but we someone still manage to make cookies. They tasted good. They were warm and gooey, and melted in my mouth.

I thought about the movie night at Gibbs' house. How warm and happy I felt. How _safe_ I felt. I thought about how Tony spouted facts about anything and everything under the sun about movies. I thought about McGee's super sleuthing skills, and how much I rely on his help for homework if my brother isn't there. I think about Ziva and her non understanding for American idioms, and how much they drive her up halls.

I think about my mother, reading to me as I fell asleep and carding her hand gently through my hair.

I think about Gibbs. How safe I automatically feel around him.

That same safety I feel now.

My breath evened out, my vision focused and I could see the shirt my face was currently buried in. My hearing stopped buzzing, and I heard a reassuring, familiar, safe voice murmuring over and over again, "Kiley. You're with me. You're with me. Snap out of it."

I sucked in a shaky breath and said, "I'm okay, Gibbs. I'm okay."

I heard him sigh in relief, "Good."

"The others?"

"Safe."

"What happened?" Silence.

"I have an idea. But I don't like it."

I had an idea too. Nicholas. He better still be alive, so that I could kill him for whatever he did.

Then Gibbs began to move. He rose to his feet slowly, pulling me with him. Once we were up, I pulled away from Gibbs and stood on my own. It was a bit shaky. But I was okay.

I nodded to Gibbs, and we exited the alleyway.

Fire trucks and ambulances raced past us, and people milling around pointed towards where they were going.

An abandoned warehouse, in a nigh abandoned work zone, was currently going up in flames. That is, what was left of it.

As soon as we stepped onto the sidewalk, we were swarmed by our friends. Tony immediately took my hand in his. Ziva took the other.

Michelle was near tears, Trish was glaring at the world and furiously trying to contact someone on her phone, Lucas was shaking and was holding a pale Jason's arm, and Eric was trying to calm Michelle down.

Abby looked shaken, and immediately clung to Gibbs' arm. McGee was shocked, but the only thing he did to show it was grip my shoulder. Tony clapped a hand to McGee's shoulder, and Abby grabbed his hand.

Trish walked up to me, looked me over, exchanged a look with Ziva, and said, "I can't contact my parents. Phone lines are caught up. I have to go and check on them. Lucas and Michelle too. Will you be alright with the NCIS people?"

I nodded and looked at Eric and Jason, "Make sure they all get there safely." I looked directly at Eric and added, "They aren't in any state to be on their own. Stay together. I'll be fine."

With a nod, they dispersed. Eric took Michelle and Trish, tugging them along in the opposite direction of the explosion. Jason did the same for Lucas, and soon they were nearly sprinting through the gathering crowd. Jason may not have any family, but Lucas' parents had pretty much adopted him, so he must be pretty worried too.

When they left, Tony began pulling all of us along. "Come on. Back to Kiley's apartment." He said hurriedly.

NCIS

Once we got there, I wasn't surprised when my phone rang signaling that Spencer was calling me.

I pressed the answer button, but before I could get one word out, a shriek from Garcia came through the phone so suddenly, I dropped it. Ziva caught it before it hit the ground, and we all heard, "Baby Genius! Are you alright?! You weren't near it, where you!? Say something!"

I took the phone back from Ziva with a small smile as another voice calmed Garcia, "Baby girl, she can't answer if you don't let her. Hey indie, are you alright?"

Morgan had found out of my love for Indie Rock bands. So that's where the nickname came from.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "Yes. I'm perfectly fine. I'm not injured, and no, I wasn't near it."

I caught the glances from the NCIS team, but gave them a look and they dropped the matter.

I heard collective sighs of relief. "Good. Are you sure you're alright, Kiley?" I heard my brother's voice inquire. I knew that he was talking about panic and all that.

I sighed again, "Spen, I am fine. I don't know what happened, but I know it was at the building warehouse on 28th street. The one that no one goes to anymore, and was actually taped off because it had been collapsing. Other than that, I have no clue what caused the blast. I have no clue if someone was in there when it happened. All that I know is that the only threat it poses right now is the fire currently attempting to spread to the rest of the city. But with the amount of fire fighters going too it, I doubt we'll have much of an issue."

Another chorus of relieved voices, then Hotch's voice came on, "I'm going to assume you are safely in your apartment?" I gave a noise of confirmation and he continued, "Stay there until the officials say it's safe for the public to be outside."

"Yes sir." Came the immediate reply.

Spencer came back on the phone saying, "We caught the unsub. So we'll be home in a few days. Will you be okay?"

I rolled my eyes and Rossi's voice popped up, "I can hear her rolling her eyes."

I laughed, "One, have you been holding out on us with your weird power? Two, I'll be fine. I always am."

I heard the laugh echoed through the phone and Rossi's muffled reply, "You don't know everything about me." In my mind's eye, I could see him giving me a smug look while he crossed his arms.

"See you soon." Spencer said with a resigned tone.

I giggled, "Yeah. Be careful."

Then the line went dead and I looked at the team members crowding around me. "It's better if he doesn't worry. I would prefer that he find out here. Actually, I would prefer he never found out. But, I doubt that will happen. I don't want to add to his already big workload."

They nodded, and that was the end of the matter.

For now.

NCIS

Later that night, I was curled up on the couch with the NCIS team around me while Gibbs talked on his phone to someone from the FBI.

He hung up abruptly and looked at us. "They found a body at the bomb site. Just one. The DNA was positive for Nicholas Stark. The bomber who had a hit out on Kiley."

My mouth almost fell open in shock. Nicholas was dead? That was his big plan to get the NCIS off his back?!

I know that I just met him, but my heart fell. We had just started becoming friends.

But I fought against those feelings and kept a neutral expression on my face as I looked at all of them. There was collective looks of relief on all of their faces.

Ziva actually looked smug.

Tony patted my knee, "Well then! Looks like Kiley isn't in danger anymore!" He gave me a crooked grin, "Unless she decides to make someone mad."

I scowled at him, "I have been trying very hard NOT to, thank you very much."

A laugh echoed around me. Then Abby yawned and McGee spoke up, "We'd better get back to the hotel now that Kiley is safe."

They all nodded and one by one, they all said goodnight and walked out the door.

When I was alone, I allowed my mask to break and drew in a shaky breath.

I stood up and paced around the apartment, until a creak alerted me that I wasn't alone. I didn't hesitate this time; I bent down, got a knife from my boot, and threw it towards the subject making the creak. I heard a 'THUNK' as the knife met it's mark.


	15. Chapter 15

When I turned around, I saw my knife dangling from the wall. And I also saw someone I didn't expect to see staring at it in shock.

"Seriously?! Are you freaking kidding?! You idiot!" I yelled. Completely fed up with my stupid friends.

The one and only Nicholas Stark was standing there, looking at me in shock. He looked at the knife, looked at me, then looked back at the knife.

"I know! You could have skewered me with that thing! I didn't plant a false me and blow it up just to be turned into a pincushion!" He yelled back.

I stalked over to him and hit his chest with my palm. "You're an idiot! I thought you were dead! You made me think you were dead! Then you almost run yourself into my knife! Had you not surprised me like that, and not been an idiot, you wouldn't have come," I measured the distance from his nose to my knife, "This close to being a pincushion!"

He stared at me a bit more with his mouth wide open, before cracking a broad grin. "Were you worried about me?"

I scoffed, throwing my hands up in the air. "You know what, I have numerous knives. I could make you a pincushion right now, and no would have to know." I reached for the knife in the wall, only to have Nicholas' hand encircle my wrist, stopping me.

"Easy there tiger. I'm sorry about the whole 'fake death' thing. But it was the only way I could think of to get them off my back. Also, I was thinking of changing the way I looked. Maybe go more bad boy rather than repair boy. Dye my hair blond or something. Who knows? Are you calm now?"

I scowled at him, trying vainly to pull my arm away from him. "No. I'm not calm. Faking your death!? Do you know how stupid that sounds?! There are two genius' in the room right now. Two! We could have figured something else out that didn't involve giving me, and a whole bunch of other people, a heart attack!"

Nicholas chuckled. Then, with a tug, he pulled me against him. Effectively shutting me up, and giving me a hug, all at the same time.

"Freaking Masochist." I muttered crossly.

"Yep. Glutton for punishment right here. Sure you want to be my friend?"

I growled at him halfheartedly, but didn't say anything.

After noticing my silence, Nicholas shifted and looked down at me, "Whoa. Did I just render THE Songbird completely silent? That has to be a first in all of history. I should hug you more often."

I smacked him in the chest again and he pouted at me. "Such a feisty thing, aren't you? You wound me. That was my heart too. You've completely rendered me heartbroken."

I smirked. "So, between the two of us, I'm supposed to be silent, and you're supposed to be heartbroken? What's next, you're deaf and I don't speak English?"

Nicholas twisted his head, "What? I can't here you. Try sign language."

I smirked, "How about Italian? _Sei un idiota._ "

Nicholas' mouth fell open, "Okay. Definitely becoming part of plan B."

I whined dramatically, "Nicholas, you're supposed to be deaf."

He just ruffled my hair. "Enough games for now. I came here to A) Tell you I was okay. And B) Tell you that I'm not sticking around for much longer. I'm leaving. I'm thinking maybe Cali? Maybe even Spain. I could definitely go for some sun right now after this cold, cold eastern cruelty known as the American Eastern states."

I rolled my eyes, "Please. You get used to it after a while. I'm from Vegas, so I should know."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me, "Ah. Viva Las Vegas huh? Maybe I'll go there. Drop by a few casinos. You know, they kind of banned me last I was there. Apparently, you aren't supposed to count the cards."

I rolled my eyes again, "My brother has the same problem."

"Ah! I shall have to meet zis elusive older brother, ey?"

I shook my head, "Oh yes. You'd get along swimmingly."

Nicholas grinned at me, planted a kiss on my forehead, then released me. He backed towards the window and bowed, "Farwell, oh beautiful Songbird. We shall meet again in the future. Until then, I bid you, fair thee well."

I curtsied as well as I was able and replied back with equal dramatics, "And you as well, bomb prince. Until the morning sun sees us together once again."

He laughed as he ducked out the window. The last thing I heard was, "Excuse you! I'm a KING!"

Then silence.

I closed the window, locking it for good measure, and pulled the knife out of the wall. My friends were nutjobs. But, at least it wasn't boring.

NCIS

The next few days passed by in a bit of a blur. The NCIS team left back to D.C. saying they actually had jobs that they needed to get back to (I was offended. I thought I trumped a job), and that they might be back sometime in the future (I was really offended. I expected them back the next day).

After they left, Gibbs called my brother and filled him in on everything. I found this out after I got a very loud call from my brother. Basically grounding me for not telling him. Then congratulating me on being able to scare an NCIS agent who faced down murders every other day. Next time I saw Gibbs, I was going to chuck a coffee at his head.

Coward.

But besides that, everything was normal. If, that is, you consider being texted every day by a former assassin normal.

Nicholas would wake me up every day at 6:00 with a text that usually read _'Good morning, Songbird. The birds sing wonderfully here, care to join them?'_

Then he'd text me throughout the day with pictures of wherever he was. Then a goodnight text that usually read _'Good night, Songbird. The moon is gorgeous here, wish you could see it too.'_

I started to look forward to them. He was moving around a lot. In the week since I'd last seen him, he had jumped on a plane and gone to London. He had started tracking down Hell's Gate's operatives. Trying to stop them from making mistakes or killing innocent people. Plus, he wasn't a wanted criminal in Europe like he was in the US.

Although, I have to say, in my humble opinion, Hell's Gate sounded like a cooking channel of doom. I told Nicholas this and he had laughed, saying it was a pretty good description.

But, besides that, everything had gone back to normal. The BAU team was back, and I was being drug around by Garcia, Prentiss, JJ to girl's nights. Non-alcoholic of course; unless, of course, we went back to one of their apartments. I didn't have any, but it was a bit funny to see a drunk Garcia stumbled around her apartment, giggling at the wallpaper.

Morgan was being his normal annoying older brother self, but I was glad for the normality.

Rossi even started to teach me how to cook in his free time.

Almost a month after the whole fiasco, I was sitting in the kitchen working on my farewell project. Since I was graduating this year, I had to make a collage and write an essay about my life.

Spencer was attempting to help me, and wound up gluing his hand to the table. I couldn't stop laughing, and sent a picture to not only Garcia, and the entire team for that matter, but Nicholas as well.

Garcia called me after receiving it and chirped, "I could help you out, dearie." She gasped, "We could put glitter on it and everything!"

I laughed and shook my head while replying, "I don't think Spencer could survive a glitter attack, Penny."

Spencer glared at me over the table then went back to getting his hand free.

Not 10 minutes later, the doorbell rang through the house and I left a struggling Spencer at the table and walked over to the door.

When I opened it, Garcia burst inside carrying bags of decorating things. My mouth fell open at the sight of the two huge grocery bags full of the stuff.

"Uh… You…. Uh…. Didn't have to….." I tried weakly. But she had none of it, just waved me off and hauled her bags into the kitchen.

Morgan walked through the door next and started laughing at me. "You shouldn't have told baby girl you were making a collage if you didn't want tons of glitter there, Indie."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure. You never told me that, just for the record."

I closed the door and we walked back into the kitchen. Spencer had just gotten his hand free, and was holding it up in triumph. Morgan laughed again and asked, "I thought you were supposed to be helping her, Pretty Boy, not tying yourself up."

Spencer gave him a dirty look before shaking his head, obviously not deeming it worthy. Instead, he said, "Did you know that on average, most adult American's use 40 pounds of glue per year? Also, the earliest known glue was birch bark tar, and that method was used in the early to late B.C. centuries for gluing a spear head and a stick together. And-"

Morgan cut him off with a chuckle, "Alright, Pretty Boy, we get it." He gave him a fond smile and Spencer returned it before ducking his head.

I sighed dramatically, drawing everyone's attention, "At this rate, I shall learn more about glue then I thought possible," I shot Spencer a playful smile, "And my collage will not be done by Friday."

Garcia clapped, "Well, we can't have that! You are graduating for good this time! Unless, of course, you want to go back again. Let's get to work, my beauties!"

With that, the oddest decorating party sat down at the table, and began.

Criminal Minds

I sighed; I was very, very, very bored. We were almost done with the collage. Surprisingly, Penny didn't go overboard with the glitter or streamers like I knew she wanted to. Instead, we put black and blue glitter dotting around the pictures. I had called Michelle for help on recent photos, and they looked nice. Garcia had cooed over the little baby pictures that we managed to get a hold of, and Morgan just teased me 'You used to look so adorable, Indie. What happened?'

If looks could kill, Morgan would be dead. And not just murdered by me. Reid was in most of the pictures of a younger me, so Morgan teased him about how big his glasses used to be. Or how long his hair used to be. We both knew there was a reason for both, but we just went along with it. Although, the glares were getting more lethal and more frequent.

I felt that we needed a diffusor, so, with everyone attention glued to my collage and not on me (I was sitting at the island, supposed to be working on my essay. Which I had finished 10 minutes ago), I picked up a clear bobble thingy that Garcia had gotten for decoration. Inspiration came to me, and I grinned wickedly before setting to work.

Criminal Minds

The collage was now on near the wall, drying, and the three 'adults' were bickering like children at the table about ice cream. I can see the adult age just oozing out of them.

I was done with my masterpiece, a bright pink glitter bomb. The glass it was made out of wouldn't hurt them so long as it didn't shatter on their hands, so I calculated the distance, the mass of the object in my hand, and how much force would be needed for a perfect hit, and threw the pink macabre monstrosity.

It connected with the table and broke, sending up a funnel cloud of the bright pink death that I was told could glow in the dark.

The cloud of horror swept over the three at the table and the conversation died. My computer was currently filming all of it, and I was definitely going to be showing _everyone_ later.

When the horrific cloud cleared, I was left with the sight of three adults, staring at each other in surprise, covered in bright pink, glow in the dark, sticky, glitter. I burst into laughter at the sight of their faces and grabbed the next bomb quickly, before they could get over their shock.

This one was a horrible purple pastel color that I vehemently refused to put on my presentation. I threw it, and again, it was a perfect shot.

It shattered right next to the other one, and a purple pastel monstrosity that also glowed in the dark covered my friends with another layer of devil's dust.

Again, once the cloud cleared, I was greeted with the sight of my shocked friends. They were starting to recover quickly though, and began to turn to me with "KILEY!" on their lips. Before they could get past that, I threw another bomb. This one bright, neon, yellow.

Again, they were covered in a macabre cloud of evil. But this time, Morgan was already standing and running at me before the cloud dispersed. I snapped a quick picture, then booked it to the conveniently open window near the fire escape.

I ducked outside right before Morgan could catch me and slid down the ladder.

"You forgot, kid! I chase criminals for a living!" Morgan yelled from above me as he slid down the ladder as fast as I did.

I was close enough to the dumpster on the ground, so I leapt over the barrier and connected with the thankfully closed dumpster. I jumped to the ground just as Morgan crashed into the dumpster, throwing stray glitter in every direction.

I laughed as I jumped out of his grip and booked it out of the alley.

I don't know what we looked like to other people while we streaked down the street. But it must have looked awesome.

 _The Galaway girl's POV:_

I was at the park, enjoying a book on a park bench, when I heard screaming.

Alarmed, I picked up my head to see the oddest sight I had ever seen before.

A brown haired girl wearing a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and boots, ran at a quick pace across the park followed closely by two, apparently angry, blobs of bright, horribly in your face, glitter.

The girl in front of the two angry blobs was screaming with delight and laughter, while the two blobs screamed of vengeance.

They continued running circles around the park until the taller angry blob of the two caught up with the girl, tackling her to the ground.

More laughter erupted from the girl's mouth as she screamed, "Spencer! You look awesome!"

Spencer just yelled back, "Kiley! I'm going to kill you!"

The other blob tackled the two, adding his two cents in, "Why glitter? Come on girl! Why glitter!? This stuff ain't ever gonna come off now! I liked this shirt!"

Another blob of glitter waltzed over to them. But this one was laughing so hard she could barely stand.

"Baby genius! That was the most awesomest prank I've ever seen you pull!"

More laughter from the girl, who was quickly being covered in multi colored glitter.

"You guys look awesome!" She shouted as the two angry blobs began to tickle her in revenge.

I just smiled before going back to my book. Who was I to get in the way of fun?

 **Sapphire here! Did I make ya laugh? Or at least grin? I was laughing at the end of this chapter. Also, for helping info, glitter bombs? Epic to make. As long as you can run faster than your victims. My brother wasn't very pleased with me at his graduation, that is all I'll say.**

 **ST**


	16. Chapter 16

Two weeks after the glitter bomb incident (Which I sent the video evidence my brother didn't know I had to EVERYONE I knew. Including: The NCIS team. Nicholas. The rest of the BAU team. My college friends. And the victims of my prank), it was graduation day.

From our little group, I was the only one actually leaving college today. And I was nervous. Beyond nervous actually. I hadn't gotten this nervous for highschool. Or when I graduated with my other degrees. And I knew why too.

I had people I cared about sitting in the audience. People I wanted to make proud. And because of that, I was stuttering badly, tripping, and basically making an idiot out of myself.

Trish was currently walking with me down the halls to the area I was supposed to be at in 10 minutes.

She stopped me at the door and grabbed my shoulders firmly. "Kiley Reid. You are a wonderful, talented, intelligent human being. Stop being so nervous about walking across a stage, smiling at the audience, then walking off."

I bit my lip. "But what if I fall? What if I make an idiot out of myself."

She smiled at me fondly. "You listen to me right now, girly. You have had no problem making an idiot out of yourself to make us laugh before now. If you fall, you get right back up again. If you make an idiot of yourself, I'll stand up and do it too. You have people behind you, Kiley. And all of us are proud of you. It doesn't matter if you fall along the way. If you can't pick yourself up, we will."

I smiled at her anxiously, but I felt a bit less nervous now. "Thanks, Trish. Really. Not just for today. For being a good friend."

She smirked at me, "This isn't a funeral. No death speeches. And, Killey? I'll always be your friend. Nothing you can do would get rid of me now. So, get out there, walk onto a stage, accept your diploma, smile at the crowd, if not the crowd, then at your friends, then walk off the stage with your head held high so we can go get pizza and ice cream."

I nodded, still nervous. But I pushed my shoulders back, lifted my chin, and gave her a confident smile.

She patted my cheek, "That's my girl. Now come on. Michelle saved me a good spot, but we still need to find yours."

She led me out the door and to the row of graduates. I quickly found my place and turned to thank Trish again. She just smiled at me, patted my shoulder, and vanished among the sea of people still coming in.

I looked down and started playing with the edge of my gown.

Underneath it I wore comfortable ripped jeans that no one could see anyway, and a nice, shimmering, purple sleeveless shirt with a thin black vest over the top. I had my belt on (With the knife still in it) and my boots (With the knives still in it). And Nicholas' fingerless gloves were tucked into my pocket.

Michelle and Trish had attacked me at 7:00 am that morning. That is to say, Trish got my face again and Michelle got my hair.

My brown hair was curled, and cascaded down my shoulders in a chocolaty wave. I had pouty pink lips, piercing brown eyes with gold eyeshadow, light eyeliner, and big eyelashes.

Spencer nearly had a heart attack when he saw me walk out of my room after the torture. And Trish had to explain to him that 'I had to look my best for graduation' to which Spencer vehemently replied 'She doesn't have to look like she's going to a club!' which led to one of the biggest arguments I have ever seen take place in Spencer's kitchen. He's the reason my lips were pink and not purple, and the reason the eyeliner wasn't as thick as Trish wanted it to be. And why I had a vest over the shirt.

I didn't mind, it gave me a good laugh and quelled some of my nerves before going to the school.

Now I was standing, nervously waiting for us to start, as we waited for the music to play.

I was sad for the fact that the NCIS team couldn't make it. But the entire BAU team made up for that fact. And Garcia promised to film it so we could send it to them afterwards.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the music began to play.

I put my chin up and followed my fellow graduates into the auditorium.

I tried not to look nervous as we marched down the aisle, and I tried not to look everywhere but the stage. But failed miserably and began searching the rows for my friends.

When I found them, I couldn't help but do a double take and grin giddily.

There, sitting next to the BAU team, was the entire NCIS team complete with Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy.

Abby saw me staring and quickly pointed it out to the rest of them. All of them began waving at me. Garcia wrestling Morgan and even Hotch into it too.

Gibbs just smiled at me, and even from this distance, I could see the pride on his face.

I turned back to where I was supposed to go with a smile.

We all sat down, and the principal started talking. I zoned out after the first few words of 'We are honored to be here today'. We had done this in rehearsal ten times. I had memorized the freakin thing! And I really didn't want it playing over and over in my head when I tried to sleep.

Finally, names started to be called.

I waited for mine to pop up, and fiddled with my gown a bit more.

They had gotten to the M's. Shouldn't be long now.

Alisa Nye. Like Bill Nye the Science Guy? I probably should have paid more attention to my classmate's names. Then again, they all did different stuff than me.

Robert Rashton. Ouch. Bet that was fun growing up.

Kiley Reid.

Oh, was that me? I stood up hastily and walked down the aisle to walk across a stage, smile, and walk back down again. Couldn't they just fax it to me or something? I had asked, but Garcia said no. This was an 'experience I shouldn't miss out on' even though I've gone through it before.

I climbed the stage, heart pounding in my ears. What had Lucas said last night? Oh, 'You have faced a killer before, and want to make it your career path, but you're scared to walk across a stage and smile?'

I should probably be smiling, shouldn't I?

I forced a smile on my face and reached out to shake the principal's hand.

He gave me a rolled up piece of paper, a smile, then a nod, and I began to walk back across the stage.

That's when I heard it. A cacophony of cheers screaming various things.

"That's my baby genius!"

"You go Indie!"

"That's my sister!"

"Good job, Kiles!"

"Go get em Killey!"

"Knock them dead, Kiles!"

"Well done, Rosaline!"

And then a chorus of all of the above.

The grin I gave the crowd then was blinding.

Criminal Minds/NCIS

Later, after we had all gone to the park to celebrate with cake and pizza, I reclined by the lake with a grin still on my face.

I could hear the others still chatting/playfully arguing from where I sat, but I loved the noise.

Eventually, someone sat down next to me. It was Gibbs.

"Pretty view." He noted quietly.

I hummed in reply. "Yeah. I'll never forget it."

He bumped my arm with his elbow, "You did good."

I turned to him with a sidelong grin, "Glad to hear it. I still want to chuck your coffee at you though."

He laughed. It was the most open laugh I've ever seen him give actually, and I beamed at him.

Someone else sat down on my other side, and I looked over to see my brother.

"You did better than me when you walked across the stage." He told me with a grin. "I stumbled and nearly fell off."

I laughed, "I almost did that too. Had you guys not been there to make me laugh, I probably would been too nervous to see the stairs."

That made him grin and Gibbs chuckle.

We sat there for another hour, before Trish held up her hand and announced, "I for one, want to go have a paintball war and beat all of you!"

I laughed, "I can agree with that. Anyone else up for it?"

Surprisingly, everyone agreed. Even Ducky wanted to join in on the fun. I think that shocked everyone but Gibbs. But, it was not as shocking as Hotch and Rossi agreeing to go too, and not just as cheerleaders. As actual players.

So, after we cleaned up our mess, we began to walk out of the park so we could go to the paintball place, which Trish had apparently reserved the Shadow Maze course for all of us so we'd be the only ones there.

Before we made it out of the park though, a girl with black hair and blue eyes stopped me with a light hand to my shoulder. She looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Garcia before winking at me and saying with a voice full of laughter, "Looks like they got the glitter out of their hair."

I burst into laughter, knowing exactly what she was talking about. The others turned to me with questioning glances, but the girl was already walking away.

So, I gave them a cheeky grin and said two words, "Glitter bomb."

Morgan scowled trying to hide his grin, my brother ducked his head and hid behind his bangs, and Garcia just smiled.

The others had various laughter/smirks/chuckles. Morgan growled at me good naturedly and Eric threw me the hummer keys while Trish yelled, "Run for it girl!"

With a laugh, I booked it towards Eric's hummer while Morgan raced after me.

Criminal Minds/NCIS

When we go to the paintball place and donned our gear, Morgan was bursting at the seams, jumping around and getting everyone else pumped up. He wasn't the only one though. After Tony and I explained the rules to her, Ziva was also grinning and jumping around.

We split up into three teams. The team leaders were Tony, Gibbs, and Hotch.

Tony's team had McGee, Eric, Lucas, Jason, Garcia, and Michelle.

Gibbs' team had Abby, Rossi, Jimmy, Trish, JJ, and Prentiss.

Hotch's team had Spencer, me, Ducky, Ziva, and Morgan.

We were going to play differently so we could stay longer, and take prisoners instead of marking a player out. If one base got all the prisoners, or there wasn't anyone left out of prison, then that team won the game.

With that done, we were turned loose on the course.

Hotch had instructed us into pairs. Spencer was with him, Ducky was with Morgan, and I was with Ziva. We were to go around, sneakily, and take out as many people as possible. The quieter we were, the more people we would get. Watch out for your teammates, and if one of us was taken prisoner, the others would sneak in and retrieve them.

If we got prisoners, Ducky and Morgan would be guards. So those two needed to stay near our base. Ziva and I needed to go to the far end of the course, near where Gibb's team was located, and take them out as soon as possible. He and Spencer would take out Tony's team. If anyone wondered into our area, Ducky and Morgan would be in charge of taking them out.

As soon as he finished dishing out orders, Ziva and I vanished into the track.

We were playing in a dark room with black walls set up like a maze. It made it more difficult to see people, and, having played this area before, it could scare the living daylights out of people when they round a corner and run straight into the enemy.

Eric has actually shot me, his own teammate, before simply because of that fact.

I whispered that little tidbit to Ziva, and she nodded before replying quietly, "Remember that exercise we did when you were in DC?"

"You mean the one where I wondered around in a pitch black room and had to listen to where you coming from, then fight my way away from you or hide? Yeah. Why?" I couldn't see her eyes that well because of the black safety glasses and the poor lighting, but I could see that she was excited.

"Remember how silent you needed to be and how you needed to pay attention to your surroundings? Do that now. Follow me as silent as possible, do not make a sound or draw breath too loudly. Follow me."

I nodded again and she stepped forward so quietly I couldn't hear her, and she was right next to me. I matched it almost perfectly, but I knew that no one would be able to hear us save each other.

We rounded corner after corner, me tapping her shoulders to tell her which direction to go at crossroads, and her tilting her head when she heard someone getting closer.

She focused on the path in front of us, while I took up the back and walked slightly turned to watch behind us. I kept my shoulder barely an inch from her back as I side stepped around.

After doing this for a few minutes, we heard yells. I could hear one as Tony, shouting, "CHARGE!"

And another as Trish, "You'll never take us alive!"

I heard various other people from those two teams, but I didn't hear anything from our team members. Hotch also told us to shout, "Flash Point!" If we got hit so the others would know to find us. For Tony's team, it was just "Flash!" for Gibbs' team it was just "Point!" and "Flash Point!" If we weren't sure who got us. It was a good method, so we agreed to it readily.

Ziva inclined her head and stopped. I stopped half a step behind her and listened. I could hear someone walking quietly (Or, attempting to) towards us. Around the corner we would meet whoever it was. Based on the heavy steps, and that there was only one set of steps, I guessed it was Eric.

I tapped Ziva's back and she turned slightly to look at me. I mouthed 'Eric' to her and she nodded. She pressed her back silently to the wall and motioned with her head for me to do the same.

Eric rounded the corner, and instantly, two bright splatters of paint nailed him in the chest.

His yelped and leapt backwards from us. When he saw who it was, he clutched at his heart and tried to steady his breath.

"You two are scary." He said warily. "I never heard you."

Ziva grinned at him in a 'I'm totally scary' way, and we began to walk him back to our base.

When we got there, McGee, Abby, and Rossi were already there. We herded Eric over to them and Morgan grinned at me.

"Awesome. Hotch and Pretty Boy are beating you guys though. Better hurry."

I threw him a salute and ran after Ziva, who had already walked away.

NCIS

We had gotten three more victims, Trish (She punched me for scaring her so badly), Lucas (Who gave a very unmanly yelp that sounded more like a 12 year old girl), and Prentiss (Who fell onto the ground when she leapt away from us). Now we were prowling around nearer to Gibbs' base.

But, the silence was cut short when Spencer's voice shouted out, "Point!"

Ziva and I looked at each other, and began to sneak around the back of Gibbs' base.

To get the prisoners of your team out of prison, you had to either shoot the guard(s) or sneak them out without being seen. If you got seen, you got shot. So it was easier to just shoot the guard(s).

However, that being said, if I had to guess who was guarding their base, it would be Gibbs. And I wasn't about to shoot Gibbs. I choose life, thank you very much.

There was an unspoken agreement between Ziva and I to split up and go around either side. Our chances would improve of getting Spencer out.

I went right, and she went left. Before she left, she pointed upwards. I nodded, Gibbs was a sniper. So he'd probably be up high, and I needed to watch out for him.

I moved slowly forward, alternating between looking up, looking behind, and looking forward. I will say this, it was much easier with Ziva taking point. All that I had to do was focus on sneak attacks from behind, instead of all areas.

I heard someone approaching me from a crossroads up ahead, and crouched low, blending into the black background behind me.

I watched silently as someone stalked forward. It was Hotch.

I hissed, "Hotch." Before diving to the left right as a paintball hit where I had been before.

When he saw it was me, he put the barrel of his gun down and beckoned me forward with a jerk of his head.

"Where's Ziva?" He asked lowly.

I gestured to the general area of where Gibbs' base was. "We split up to optimize our chances of getting Spencer. Also, Gibbs used to be a sniper, so look up every once and while too."

He nodded, then took point and began to stalk forward again. Seeing him like this reminded me a lot of a SWAT team. He was decked out in black, and had his gun pointed in front of him. He really did look like one.

I prowled half a step behind him and went back to alternating between checking the rear and looking up.

Eventually, we found our way to Gibbs base. Inside as prisoners, Jason, Michelle, Spencer, and Ziva resided. Spencer and Ziva were talking in low tones. Ziva was probably telling him about the plan.

Ziva had a bright blue paint splatter on her chest, right above her heart, and some of the spray had hit her face. But she still looked excited.

Spencer had a bright pink splatter on his stomach, and a bit on his chin. He must have been looking down.

Hotch jerked his head upwards, to the platform above the base, and I narrowed my eyes to look at it.

It took me longer than it should have, but there, lying on his stomach with the gun out in front, was Gibbs. He was in a position with enough cover, that he could see what was going on around him, but we couldn't him easily.

Hotch pointed to a ladder that would lead onto the platform, and then pointed at me.

I wanted to whine about his choice. Like I said, I didn't really want to shoot Gibbs. But, I nodded and prowled over to the ladder.

The message was clear, shoot Gibbs or distract him while Hotch gets the rest of our team.

Awkwardly, but still silently, I crawled up the ladder until I was crouched on the platform.

Gibbs was still doing sweeps with his gun pointed to the ground, so he couldn't see me yet. I inched forward, keeping my eyes on Gibbs, until I was in a position where I could get his back.

I raised the gun, aimed, and right before I could pull the trigger, I heard JJ's voice call out, "Gibbs! Watch it!"

Gibbs snapped around with his gun pointed towards me, but I pulled the trigger first.

A bright neon green paintball hit him in his chest, spraying paint over his safety glasses, just as he fired a neon blue ball at me.

I dived out of the way, which, unfortunately sent me over the edge of the platform. I crashed into one of the walls in the maze, and rolled as another volley of paintballs sped towards me, fired from JJ's gun.

I briefly saw Hotch getting Ziva and Spencer out, and Ziva shooting JJ, effectively getting the remaining members of Gibbs' team and also taking Lucas and Michelle prisoner, before I rolled over the edge of the wall and crashed to the ground on the other side.

It wasn't a very soft landing. The wall wasn't either, but at least it was slightly padded. The ground was hard and unforgiving.

I crumpled to the ground, wincing in pain. I hadn't cried out though, so yay me. I pushed myself into a sitting position and leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

Nothing was broken, which I should be very thankful for. Had I not hit the wall first, I would've broken my leg.

I pushed myself to my feet just as someone sped around the corner. It was Tony. Just my luck.

Before I could even raise the gun, a bright yellow paintball hit my chest. The spray got on my face, arms, and legs thanks to my position on the ground, and Tony grinned triumphantly at me.

I sighed as he picked me off the ground and began escorting me away.

Remembering the code word, I shouted, "Flash!"

Tony gave me an odd look, shrugged, and began to jog towards his base.

When we arrived, I saw the rest of the teams there. Ducky and Morgan were there, as were all of Gibbs' team besides Gibbs and JJ. And the rest of Tony's team was free and walking around except Michelle and Lucas.

I staggered over to Morgan and sat down next to him. He gave me a smirk from underneath the bright pink bombshell that had attacked him and asked, "Tony got you? Man. That's everybody but Hotch and Ziva captured."

I shook my head, offering him a grin, "Nope. We got Spencer out of Gibbs' base, and I took out Gibbs. Hotch took out JJ, so Gibbs' team is down."

Morgan laughed and Ducky patted my knee. "Are you alright, my dear? You weren't walking very well a moment ago."

I waved him off, "Na. I'm good. I just fell off a platform, hit a wall, then hit the ground. It stung but nothing is broken."

Ducky gave me a look, but didn't force the topic.

Morgan, on the other hand, grinned at both of us, "Then we got a chance! Hotch and Spencer, teamed up with the assassin, Ziva? We're covered."

I laughed and pointed to his pink splatter, "Who got you?"

He huffed, "Tony got Garcia out, and she got me."

I laughed again and doubled over my knees in laughter.

"Yeah, sure, kid. Laugh it up. You got hit by _Tony_ , who was so loud I could hear him tromping around."

I gave Morgan a blank look, "And yet he managed to sneak by you to release mostly his _entire team_. How did he manage that if you heard him?"

Morgan opened his mouth to respond, couldn't think of anything, then closed it with a snap and settled for glaring at me.

Ducky chuckled beside me and said, "Mr. Palmer was the one to ah 'stab me in the back'."

Morgan perked up again and pointed out the nervous MA, "You shoulda seen the kid too, Indie. He dropped his gun when he saw who he shot and started to stutter out an apology."

Ducky grinned wryly, "Yes, I do believe our poor Mr. Palmer thought I was going to yell at him."

I snickered and looked around.

Something caught my eye and I pointed it out to my companions. "Look, see that." I pointed towards a green ribbon that I could sworn I had seen attached to Hotch's boot when we started the game.

The ribbon abruptly vanished, and I saw Ziva's head for a fraction of a second. Then a hand appeared, pointing to the edge of the prison.

I nudged Morgan, and we all stood up. I crept to the side of the prison and looked around.

Everyone was still here, including Tony himself. He was talking to his team about a new plan to get Hotch, Ziva, and Spencer.

Speaking of, Ziva's head popped back up again. I pointed towards Tony and she nodded, before vanishing yet again.

Before I could figure out what was happening, bright colored balls fired from three different directions and hit Tony's team without mercy.

The battle was over as soon as it had begun, and the three perps stepped out. Guns still up and ready.

Tony's face was comical, and he spluttered in surprise before grinning. "Well then, guess it's up to Gibbs! My fair team is out!"

I shook my head and walked over to them as everyone else stood up, "Nope. We finished Gibbs' team a while ago."

Tony looked at me in shock, "Which one had the death wish?"

I raised my hand and he started snickering, "You know what? I'm not even mad you guys beat me now. Because little Kiley might have just made her own death certificate. Want a pen?"

I glared at him half-heartedly, but everyone saw the smile behind it.

NCIS

Turns out, Gibbs _didn't_ attempt to kill me. Instead, he just gave me a proud smile and ruffled my hair.

That left me grinning for the rest of the day.

 **Ah. Another conclusion to another story. But, do not fret! If you enjoyed this story, I'm starting another story called 'Frozen Rose'. But, if you have something specific you want to see, tell me and I'll put it in! It could be anything, from the gang going to a baseball game, to Kiley bonding with some member of either team. Tell me and I shall endeavor to write it! Though, I will say that Kiley will be traveling across the sea for the next one. Maybe she'll see Nicholas again...**

 **And thanks for sticking through another story.**

 **ST**


	17. BONUS: Basketball Brawl

**Hey guys! Sapphira here. So, a LOT of people wanted to see this fic for a looooooonng time, and I decided to humor you all. I hope you like it!**

Kiley's POV:

I walked into the building with Morgan right beside me, and Spencer beside him.

Morgan laughed and slung an arm over each of us, "Look at this place!" He crowed.

I looked around. The big building was kind of pretty, if you didn't mind the smell of people, concession food, and cleaning products.

We were finally at a basketball game; Virginia State College was hosting, and our state team was playing. Morgan had showed up at our apartment, waving tickets triumphantly, and declared we were finally going to that game he'd promised me so long ago.

Since I didn't have anything else to do, and the team was on a small break, I agreed. And somehow, Morgan had gotten the entire team roped into it.

Speaking of…..

Garcia drew our attention to where she was standing with the rest of the team by jumping up and down and waving. She was wearing a brightly colored jersey, that had somehow been bedazzled?

What was funnier though, was seeing Rossi wearing a jersey. The usually well dressed Italian was wearing a Virginia State jersey, and he looked slightly disgruntled despite his calm outward appearance.

Hotch was beside him, with Jack hanging onto him; both wearing matching jersey's to Rossi. Jack had a bag of M&M's in his hand, while the other clung to his father.

JJ and Will were there too, and little Henry was hanging on his father's hip.

Garcia had a large drink and a huge bag of popcorn, and the purse hanging at her side probably held more food she'd shove at me.

And Prentiss just looked amused by the whole thing, already munching on a snickers.

Morgan laughed and steered us towards them, shouting, "Hey guys! Looking good, baby girl."

Garcia struck a dramatic pose, nearly smacking Rossi in the face with the popcorn, and giggled happily. Then she cooed at me and shouted with glee, "And you got baby genius 1 and 2 to wear jerseys! My Chocolate God, you are better than I thought."

It was true. Morgan had showed up that morning, jersey's in tow, and had practically shoved one onto Spencer. I had opted to willing put mine on, and the only issue I really had with it was that it almost went down to my knees. Morgan had claimed that Garcia ordered it.

Garcia bustled over to me and hugged me, mindful of her drink and the popcorn (Though she did get a few pieces in my hair), "Oh, my babies look so cute!" She squealed.

Rossi smirked at me, and I rolled my eyes at him. "Where's your suit? Got tortured into wearing commoners clothes?" I teased him.

Rossi huffed, wiping off imaginary dirt from his shoulder, "I'll have you know I put this on myself."

"Good to know Garcia didn't dress you." I snickered. At his affronted look I laughed, "Come on! You walked into that one."

Garcia gave him an appraising look after hugging my brother, then said, "I wish I could've at least chosen his wardrobe. Could've put face paint on him." She bemoaned.

Prentiss laughed at Rossi offended look at the mere _thought_ of putting on face paint, and that sparked laughter from everyone else. Even Hotch.

Hotch lightly bumped Rossi with a grin and said, "I don't know, I think Dave would look good with face paint."

Rossi glared at him, then smirked, "Only if you would have done it, Aaron."

Jack laughed at that and tugged his father's hand, "Can we next time, Daddy? Please!"

Henry made a noise of agreement, and a broad smile stretched Morgan's face. "Guess we'll be doing this again then?" He asked.

At everyone's nod, he beamed happily, slinging his arm over Garcia's shoulders. "Well, we'd better get something to eat, then find our seats." He said, looking at the huge clock hanging on the wall.

The team nodded, and Rossi sniffed, "I might as well try a giant pretzel."

I rolled my eyes, before looping my arm with his as we walked to the concession stand. "I'm sure it will totally kill you."

He gave me a look and replied, "You don't know, it might."

Hotch bumped him from the other side and teased, "What, your stomach is too sensitive for concession food?"

Before we could start arguing about it, JJ broke in. "Boys, Kiley, behave."

"Yes mom." I snarked over my shoulder, throwing her a grin, and Rossi and Hotch both chuckled.

CM

"Throw the ball!" Rossi's near screech beside me made me jump violently into Morgan, almost jumping into his lap.

He steadied me absentmindedly, but his attention was on the court.

I expected as much from Morgan, and maybe Will, but Rossi? I thought he'd be dignified, like every other moment in his life. Instead, he had sat through the first quarter with growing interest in the game, demanding I explain the rules to him, and by the time the second was halfway through, he was screaming like some sort of mad banshee along with Will, Morgan, and Garcia.

It was a mistake to sit with Rossi on my right, Morgan on my left, and Will in front of me. Should have sat beside my brother, who was sitting beside Morgan.

Probably would have been safer.

Rossi's second giant pretzel nearly smacked me in the face as he leapt to his feet again, cheering with the rest of the crowd as Virginia scored again.

I'd hate to be at a game where Rossi's team was losing.

Once everyone had calmed down again, Morgan sat down and turned to me with a grin, "Having fun, Indie?"

I gave him a smile, "Yep. Didn't think Rossi would be this much into it though."

Morgan beamed, "I know!" Then his attention was once again captured by the game.

I shared a look over his head with Spencer, and we both nodded. We'd be lucky to get out of this without a black eye thanks to a giant pretzel.

CM

I attempted to stand, intent on getting a refill on my drink, but was clocked in the face by Rossi swinging his arm around.

I staggered backwards and fell into the row behind me, incidentally someone's lap. I spluttered with embarrassment, attempting to apologize for the slip, but the man above me just gave me a charming smile.

"You alright there, belle?" He asked, voice low and sweet.

I nodded, words dying in my throat at his soft honey colored eyes.

His grinned at me, leaning a bit more down into where I was still practically lying on top of him, "Seems you're already falling for me. Perhaps-" But he was cut off by Morgan shouting.

"Hey! Get your hands off of her!" I looked past my new companion to see Morgan standing, and turning around.

I reflected on how this must look: His self-chosen sister, lying in a stranger's lap (A man's to boot), with him obviously flirted with her, and with his hands currently on her shoulders.

"Uh…." I couldn't think of anything fast enough, too flustered to say anything.

And, to make it better, Morgan's shout had attracted the attention of the rest of the team. Spencer looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel; Hotch was standing up to his full height, murder on his face; JJ and Will and both stood up and had sour looks on their faces; Garcia looked ready to throw her popcorn at the guy's head; Prentiss was staring at him with her patented 'I can gut you like a fish' stare; and Rossi was glaring at him.

But wait, there's more!

Cute guy had a lot of buddies. **Big** , burly buddies.

All of whom were standing up and looking ready to fight.

 _Great._

CM

We had been asked to leave.

No, wait, scratch that. We had been _escorted_ out of the building.

By security guards.

Security. Guards.

But not before Morgan got a bloody nose; Spencer got a black eye; Will had a shiny new mark on his cheek; and Hotch had a split lip. Jack and Henry thought it was really cool; Prentiss and JJ had been laughing for the past five minutes at the stupidity over it all after I explained to them just how badly they'd screwed up; Garcia and Rossi were pouting because they hadn't gotten to see the end of the game; and I got someone's number.

And the invite to call him and go over to his house to 'tend his injuries'. I'd wanted to kick him after that.

All in all, wonderful day.

I munched on the free pretzel I'd gotten out of it, and danced out of Rossi's reach when he tried to steal a piece of it.

Morgan was holding several tissues up to his nose, but he was grinning at me. "So, that was fun."

Spencer shot him an incredulous look with one eye, the other having been covered with an ice patch the EMT's had provided.

"What was fun about getting into a brawl during a basketball game?" He asked.

"It was cool!" Jack declared, tightening his hold on his father's hand.

"It was hilarious." Prentiss and I said at the same time.

We snickered, then I said, "It was really, really funny that all of you got into a brawl after Rossi knocked me into someone's lap."

"Alright kid," Rossi commented dryly, "We get it."

"Are you sure? Cause I don't think you do." I snickered, "You clocked me in the face, which is why I have a bruise on my cheekbone by the way, and when kind stranger catches me, you all lose your minds."

Rossi muttered something unsavory underneath his breath, and my laughter got louder.


End file.
